Almost There
by tatumwriter
Summary: Adrien and Marinette become a villain's main targets when they accidentally get him akumatized. Ladybug and Chat Noir struggle to keep their identities a secret while battling the confused villain.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter: 1

Ladybug dashed across the rooftop, high above the streets of Paris. At this hour, the roads were mostly empty of any traffic or pedestrians as the glowing orange sun set below the horizon. Ladybug's blue summer sky eyes squinted as she rounded a shady roof and ran into the light. Her skin tight ladybug suit glinted bright red in the yellow sunlight, her black bangs whipping in her face against the wind.

Pushing off the tall building, Ladybug jumped high through the air above the road underneath, throwing her magical yoyo across the street. The limitless string latched around a skinny chimney, and the super heroine swung like an acrobat through the air. Landing on an air vent on the other side of the street, Ladybug pulled on her yoyo until it came flying back to her finger. She raced across this new row of buildings, flipping over tall walls and somersaulting down hard on the twisty rooftops.

 _Great,_ she thought, swinging from her yoyo around a large building sign. _I'm going to be late, and Alya's going to kill me._

Ladybug sighed as she swung through the air, breathing heavily from the constant movement. She'd have to think of another excuse to make up for the fact that she was too busy saving a bank from a robber gang. Honestly, she was quite surprised her best friend hadn't realized she was a famous, top secret superhero undercover by now, especially since Alya led an investigation to reveal Ladybug's true identity and she was practically right under her nose.

Ladybug had dropped accidental clues about her identity several times at school, and none of her teenage friends could guess her secret. It wasn't too hard to put together; the one person who's late twenty four seven, is always strangely disappearing right before an akuma attack fight and can never remember her things must be leading a double life as the superheroine of Paris.

Ladybug hated keeping secrets from her friend; wasn't the whole point of a trustful and strong friendship to be able to tell each other secrets and deep things about each other?

But how would she know what that was like?

All she did was lie to her friend in order to cover her identity, and for all Alya knew, her best friend had no secrets. Ladybug finally came to a stop on a building ledge as she stood looking down at a deserted road. Good. The last thing she needed was citizens stopping and gaping at her.

She checked one last time that she was completely alone before tossing her yoyo down at the road, and twisting it around a lamppost. Pulling on the string, she leapt off the building and swung across the street, her outstretched feet only inches from the blacktop.

Ladybug front flipped and landed on the sidewalk, and she tugged at her yoyo and unlatched it from the metal pole. Ladybug placed the yoyo back on her hip and raced around a corner off of the building wall and into a bathroom. Exhausted, Ladybug plunged through the bathroom door and checked once to make sure she was entirely alone.

"Spots off," she muttered quietly, panting.

There was a bright pink flash up her body as a red object came swirling out of her earrings, landing in the palm of the untransformed girl. Ladybug's bodysuit and eye mask seemed to have disappeared, and in her place stood Marinette, wearing her favorite pink jeans and white shirt with a flower design.

Marinette was tired and breathing heavily, and her hair was a disaster from the wind, but she was happy and relieved. She'd been Ladybug all afternoon at the bank robbery, and though she loved her job as a superhero, Marinette only portrayed her true persona out of costume.

Ladybug was loved and admired, cherished and celebrated for many reasons; Ladybug was brave, heroic, and known for her unstoppable amount of victories against akumas. Marinette didn't exactly hold some of Ladybugs traits that people loved her for, and it bothered her.

If Ladybug could be loved for being herself, then why couldn't Marinette be in the same way?

At times like this where she became frustrated and jealous of Ladybug, she had to remind herself that no one could know her true identity, and that without Marinette, Ladybug was nothing. They were both equally special; and Marinette was just a little bit more, even if no one knew it yet.

Marinette's kwami sat in her hands, peering up at her and looking dizzy. "That took way longer than what I'd prepared for," Tikki groaned, her eyelids drooping as her head swayed.

"Ugh, I'm sorry, Tikki. Trust me, I didn't want to stay there that whole time either. Hell if Alya actually buys my excuse this time," Marinette mused, thinking about her fragmented friendship with her best friend.

"Speaking of which, you should get moving, Marinette, or you'll be more late than you already are." Tikki flew up next to Marinette's head, watching her fix her hair in the bathroom mirror.

"I know, Tikki. I tried to convince Alya I couldn't come when I saw that the police were crowded around the bank, but.." Marinette ran a finger through her black bangs, untangling them from knots and straightening them out around her face. "..but when I heard Adrien was coming, she sorta won me over." Tikki shook her head in disapproval as Marinette pulled her phone out of her pink purse to check the time.

"Let's go, Tikki, and it better be worth it."

She held her purse open and threw her phone inside, seconds before her kwami zoomed into concealment. Snapping the bag shut, Marinette awkwardly walked out of the bathroom and around the corner, glancing around nervously to check for bystanders. When she figured she was clear, Marinette regained the energy enough to bolt down the sidewalk, this time enclosed beneath in the big city instead of hopping and swinging from rooftops.

…

Alya and Nino looked miniscule from Chat Noir's view. He was perched high on a building ledge, leaning his back against rooftop shingles. He was concealed, being high above the streets and sitting under a shady spot. The evening sunset had almost blinded him from his former position, and he had began to heat up as the sunlight beat against his skin tight, black spandex, leather cat suit.

Chat Noir had debated whether or not he should detransform right away and go down the street as Adrien to meet his friends, but he had decided not to go yet. Sure, he was late, and Nino was going to kill him for it, but he was annoyed by now with his friends schemes.

Nino and Alya were constantly trying to get together, dragging along their two best friends along, Marinette and Adrien. Despite Nino's resistance to admit he was dating Alya and using Adrien as a cover to meet with her without making it look like they were together, Chat Noir knew exactly what was going on.

It was a clever excuse, really; but it'd be less painful for the two of them if they'd admit their love for one another, and quit taking their best friends everywhere with each other as an excuse to meet. Chat didn't care if he was late to meet up with them, they deserved to be stranded together out in the open. Besides, Chat couldn't miss an opportunity to be Chat Noir for as long as he could.

His miserable life as Adrien prevented him from being able to say or do whatever he wanted, much less be himself. Chat Noir was just as famous as the model Adrien was, but Adrien was loved just a little bit more. Most people didn't accept him as Chat Noir when they met him, but no one really knew him in that form, as a top secret superhero. The only one who had really gotten to know him for who he truly was was the love of his life: Ladybug.

Yet even she barely accepted him like that.

Adrien was much more likable to people, which only made Chat Noir jealous of his own self. He watched the pair below, standing in front of the entrance of Mayor Bourgeois' Grand Paris Luxury Hotel and obviously waiting for their friends.

It was unfortunate for Adrien to be forced to meet there, of all places; Chloe Bourgeois was the mayor's daughter, who lived in the famous hotel and happened to be his classmate at school.

He'd known her since he was very young, and she'd been the only friend he'd had until his father let him attend school for the first time. It was only until he arrived at his first day in high school that he realized she wasn't a nice person.

Being the only other kid her age he interacted with, her behavior to him was normal. When Adrien saw Chloe's cruel treatment towards Marinette and her lack of friends, he began to drift away from their friendship. Unfortunately, Chloe still acted as they had when they were five, and her unwanted presence was hard to avoid.

Adrien was happy with his new friends, especially Nino.

Chat Noir was not in the mood to change into Adrien, even if the bossy couple below on the street would yell at him. He decided to go down there when Marinette showed up, who he was sure was dragged by Alya the way Nino dragged him around to meet up together.

Marinette; she was one of those people at school who he didn't think he'd ever figure out.

The truth was, he didn't think she liked him; they'd completely gotten off on the wrong foot when they first met, but that was Chloe's fault. Marinette was smart and outgoing, and very expressive of her opinion during class. Chat Noir found her to be nice and sweet, a girl who was pretty determined about her goals. But she was just so awkward around Adrien; and he'd even met her as Chat Noir and she hadn't acted that strange.

The memory of meeting her as Chat for the first time came into his mind, when he'd followed her, as part of the plan, on a birthday date with the Evillistrator. The way that she had practically controlled the situation had almost reminded him of Ladybug, plus he'd seen a side of her that Adrien never would have.

The streets below him were deserted of cars, and Marinette didn't show any sign of rounding the hotel corner to meet them. Sighing, Chat Noir stood up to detransform back into his regular self. He flipped with drained energy over the pointed rooftop that he'd been leaning against. Chat walked along the building ledge, headed behind the building he was on top of to avoid Alya and Ninos' eyesight.

Checking one last time for any cars riding along the road, he jumped off the building's edge without looking below him and landed on the sidewalk, turning to search for a concealed spot. As Chat Noir turned around, a body suddenly collided with his, causing him to jump back in startlement. Whoever bumped into him let out a feminine sounding yell, and turning around to see who it was, he noticed black pigtails and bangs that flipped as she flung herself backwards.

Chat Noir couldn't help a grin slide across his face. He could honestly say he loved meeting Marinette as Chat Noir just to see the sarcastic and cocky side of her that he liked.

Marinette was glad she'd ran into someone, just to have an excuse to stop running. Exhausted and panting hard, she wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and leaned forward on her knees.

"Whoa, you seem a little out of wind today," said Chat Noir.

Frowning, Marinette lifted her head to confront the person whom she'd ran into. "I'm fine, thanks, I-"

 _Oh, great._

Marinette paused when she saw the blonde superhero, debating whether or not she should keep running. "Oh, um, it's _you._ " Marinette stood up straight and folded her arms, leaning her back against the building wall as she decided to still catch her breath. "I'm flattered that you remember me, _Marinette,_ " Chat Noir said as he stepped in front of her, his hands on his hips.

"Don't you save countless people every _week?_ The real question is how you remember _my_ name," Marinette muttered, raising her eyebrow questionably.

"Well, there are a few that stick in my mind," Chat said, "Especially the pretty ones."

Marinette rolled her eyes. She suddenly wondered what he was doing out here on the road, still transformed. Hadn't she just stopped a bank robbery with him only ten minutes ago?

"Shut up, you stupid cat. What are you doing out here, anyway?"

Chat Noir folded his arms across his chest, mimicking Marinette's position. "I mean, I could tell you, but then I'd be jeopardizing my identity. Wouldn't want to let the cat out of the bag, y'know?" he said.

Scowling, Marinette noticed him lean one hand against the wall next to her head. _This is way too close,_ she thought. For some reason she wasn't getting as annoyed with him as Ladybug normally did. The last thing Marinette wanted to do was admit it, but she felt as though she was actually enjoying his flirtatious manner with her. It was almost like he was flirting with her the same way he would with Ladybug, which was strange on many levels. She'd never felt this way about Chat Noir before, and it was a strange and familiar feeling at the same time.

"Where are you headed, Marinette?" he asked.

"Nowhere fancy or of any importance," Marinette said casually, "And also none of your business."

She playfully tapped his yellow bell below his collarbone, and Chat Noir felt a wave of heat spread throughout his cheeks, turning the skin below his black eye mask red. He could see a great resemblance between Marinette and Ladybug in the way she was acting. Marinette was different though, a bit more gentle and soft, and not as much scolding of him the way Ladybug always was. This feeling around Marinette was foreign to him, since he never saw this in her as Adrien.

Marinette was like a reality version of Ladybug; Ladybug was a mystery, considering he had no clue who was under her mask or what that person acted like. Ladybug was too good to be true for him, since she had completely changed his life when he first obtained the cat ring. She was beautiful, smart, intellectual, determined, brave, and heroic, and that was what he loved about her.

But he respected her wish to not show him her identity, and she remained further away from his life. It was quite early to tell, but Marinette was a more realistic version of her, a girl with a normal life, who was smart and beautiful like Ladybug, but not as much a mystery and lacking superhero abilities.

"Plus, I happen to be very late and you bothering me isn't helping."

Marinette noticed the irony in her words; she sounded as if she wanted to leave him and run as quickly as she could to get away, but her firm position against the wall indicated every intention of staying with him.

"If it's true you're very late, maybe you'd let me be so kind as to escort you to your destination?" Chat Noir had already realized the problems his proposal would cause for Adrien, but he didn't care.

Marinette blushed a hot pink, an acceptance to his offering on the tip of her tongue. "Well, um, actually, that might not be the best idea. I wouldn't want my friend getting the wrong idea if she saw me with you…" Marinette found it hard to avoid his gaze as he smiled matter-of-factly.

Taking his hand off the wall beside her head, Chat Noir began to turn and walk away. "Okay, fine. I see how it is." He strolled slowly down the sidewalk, making it obvious that he was grinning and looking back at her. Marinette broke into an uncontrollable smile.

"Really, Chat? You don't have to make me feel bad about it!"

Chat smirked as he spun around and walked backwards. "There's nothing to feel bad about. I'm just not your knight anymore, purrincess." Marinette laughed instead of groaning at his sad attempt at humor. "You know what, I'm done with you. I'm not apologizing anymore," she laughed.

Marinette quickly spun on her heel and began to head around the corner of the sidewalk, a large grin overbearing on her face. "I don't think you were actually apologizing in the first place!" Chat Noir called.

She paused in her tracks when she felt her phone vibrate in her purse. In order to conceal Tikki, Marinette checked the text message with her phone hidden inside before clicking it shut again.

"I just got a text message from my friend saying to hurry up," Marinette shouted behind her shoulder. "So I'm going to be in trouble because of you anyway."

"What a knight-mare!"

Marinette shook her head and giggled before leaving Chat's sight around the building. He stared after her, realizing that there was only one other person who had ever made him feel that happy; Ladybug.

Marinette dashed across the road walk, a large smile imprinted on her face even with Alya and Nino's angry gazes up ahead. It was hard to avoid the stares of her friends, yet thankfully they both wore large black glasses and all Marinette could see was a bright reflection of the sun.

Alya's brown wavy hair, with red dyed at the ends, had been drawn up in a fancy bun, and she wore a red plaid skirt instead of jeans. Marinette came to a quick stop at the head of the famous hotel, standing before her annoyed friends. "We've legit been waiting for like 30 minutes," Nino said, his eyelids dropped and eyebrows raised.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. There was, um, a last minute order at the bakery," Marinette said apologetically. Alya folded her arms in doubt and frowned at Marinette's joyful expression. "Right, whatever - why are you so happy?"

Marinette hadn't realized her excitement at being with Chat Noir was noticeable, and she ran a nervous hand through her hair. "Uh, what? Happy? Um, I don't know…w-what I'd really like to know is why you two are constantly trying to get us all together lately, that's what's strange," she said. Alya suddenly went red, and glanced nervously at Nino.

"Oh, um, we're all friends, right girl? There's nothing weird about getting together," Alya said, shrugging. Marinette laughed and shook her head as she adjusted her purse.

"Come on, why can't you two admit that you're dating? You're obviously just making excuses to see one another without anyone thinking you guys are together," she said, and watched them grow confused.

"That's what you think this has been about?" Nino said, and suddenly burst out with laughter, followed by Alya. The pair looked at the confused Marinette with tears in their eyes, laughing loudly. "Girl, that's a good cover! Never really thought of that one!" Alya giggled, giving Marinette a playful punch on her arm.

Marinette suddenly felt awkward being the only one who had no clue what was going on. She put her hands on her hips and frowned. " _What's_ going on you guys?" she demanded annoyedly. "We're not the ones who're trying to date, this whole thing is actually about you and-" Alya's elbow dug hard into Ninos side, cutting him off as he yelped in pain.

"Ouch!" Nino gave Alya a dirty look as he rubbed his stomach. Marinette stopped herself from laughing at his deserved pain from not telling her the truth.

"Oh look, there's, um... _Adrien,"_ Alya said, and shotNino a mean look before turning back to Marinette and looking innocent. Marinette suddenly tensed at the sound of that name.

 _Adrien_.

She'd completely forgotten she'd have to meet Adrien tonight. Marinette fell into the same thought process she always did whenever she needed to talk to Adrien; her life was only seconds away from coming to an end, as she'd die from embarrassment at not being able to properly speak to him. It was kind of strange to her, having just met Chat Noir and feeling an attraction to him, and yet when Adrien comes she feels the exact same way.

"It's about time, I'm going to kill that dude. Sorry if your mom has to wait longer, Alya," Nino said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Alya shrugged. "No biggie. Adrien wasn't the only one who was late," she snarled, glaring angrily at Marinette.

Marinette groaned in frustration. "I told you, tonight was not a good night for me to come, but miss bossy just had to _insist_ , didn't you?"

"Trust me, you won't regret it in the end," Alya said. With a wink, she added, "You'll thank me later."

Marinette became more than suspicious when she saw Nino and Alya grin mischievously at one another, and rolled her eyes.

"Hey guys!"

The usual form of Adrien ran up to the trio, dressed in a grey sweatshirt and jeans. Marinette lost her hope of being able to speak to him when she saw the way his blond hair shone golden in the orange glow of the sunset, and how his green eyes illuminated a happiness he didn't usually portray.

"I think we can finally walk in now, Alya, now that everyone's decided to show up," Nino said coldly, staring at Adrien with annoyance.

"It's nice to see you too, Nino," Adrien said, raising his eyebrows. "Um, sorry, Alya."

Alya shook her head and started walking towards the entrance to the hotel. "Whatever, pretty boy. I guess I'll forgive you, even if you were probably taking an hour long shower, anyway," she snapped. Nino snickered as he turned to follow her.

Adrien looked at Alya in puzzlement. "Hey, what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Ninos told me all about the model side in you. Don't worry, Marinette was probably doing the same. Knowing her, there was no 'last minute order in the bakery,'" she said smartly. Marinette went red as Nino laughed and walked through the front doors behind Alya. Marinette was currently unable to move seeing that Adrien hadn't bothered to follow them, and he turned to her and smiled warmly.

"There's definitely something up with them, don't you think?"

Marinette almost felt intimidated by his gentle gaze locking onto her own. "Well, uh, no, I don't really think so..I mean, yeah I think they're secretly dating, but I don't think that's what this is all about, since they, uh, practically told me it wasn't.."

She wanted to punch herself.

 _Why is it that I only have self confidence when I wear a skin tight ladybug costume? That just sounds plain stupid…_ Adrien's mood seemed to dim as she finished her awkward sentence, and Marinette felt guilty.

 _She acts so much different around Chat Noir…Who knows if that's a good or bad thing,_ Adrien thought gloomily, and reminded himself he still had the rest of the night. He only wanted to bring out the side of her that he'd fallen in love with in Ladybug.

Maybe then he'd be closer to finding out her true identity.

"Well, should we go inside then?" he asked, gesturing his hand out to the door. Marinette nodded quickly and walked beside him. The hotel doorman stepped aside to allow the teens to enter through the doors. "Seems like you two have really done it to upset your friends back there," he remarked snidely, causing Adrien and Marinette to pause in their tracks.

"I've been watching them for about an hour while they waited for you, complaining and gossiping about you two, probably."

Marinette scowled and frowned at the doorman. "Really? Well, thanks for that _helpful_ and _obvious_ observation." She smirked at him as she disappeared through the door with Adrien. The two entered the fancy lobby, Marinette caught up in her pride over handling the overly snobby doorman.

Adrien couldn't help smiling at her in admiration, and Marinette jumped slightly when she saw him staring at her. "That guy totally deserved that," he said, laughing. "That was awesome."

The corners of her mouth flickered into a half smile at the sight of him laughing. "Oh, yeah, uh, thanks," she said nervously. Mayor Bourgeois stood behind the front desk off to the left, in the middle of a frantic discussion with a butler employee. Alya and Nino were at the foot of the stairs by the end of the lobby, talking to Alyas mother, the head chef of the hotel. Adrien and Marinette waited for them by the group of chairs off to the right by the elevators.

 _Maybe I should...give her a compliment?_ Adrien glanced at her pink-flushed face, realizing she had something he loved about Ladybug, coincidentally.

"Your eyes are really pretty," he blurted, watching her turn to him nervously.

 _What the hell was that?_

"S-seriously? Um, thanks," Marinette said as brightly as she could. "Blue's my favorite color," Adrien said. Marinette smiled, obviously trying to avoid his gaze.

"Really? So's mine," she replied nervously. Adrien went red, realizing that she may have actually accepted his compliment.

 _You need to relax, Marinette._ She thought, taking in a few helpful breaths. _Just try and talk to him the way you would any other boy in the class. Is it that hard?_

No, it wasn't.

That was her problem.


	2. Chapter 2

**So this is my first fanfiction ever, and as of right now I think there's going to be at least 13 chapters in this story… I'll update every weekend, and hopefully post more than 1 chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, it pretty much leads up to the main plot afterwards, so yeah :)**

Chapter: 2

"Can't you walk any faster?"

"Shut up, I'm going as...fast...as I can."

James Cornfield watched in annoyance as his drunken friend stumbled up the stairs like an idiot. Obviously, Zee hadn't been intoxicated enough times to be able to handle his surroundings.

James, on the other hand, who'd had access to limitless amount of alcohol thanks to his dad, was able to control himself quite well. Quite honestly, James could hardly remember the reason why his parents decided to drag him to the hotel, all he knew was that it was for something important.

He'd stolen his best friend away from his parents and introduced him to alcohol. The rather plump and short figure of Zee, with a newly shaved haircut and dull gray eyes, fell on his knees when he reached a landing by an exit door.

"Man - why we gotta do this, anyway? This is making me so tired, I forgot why we're even doing this," Zee complained.

James smoothed his hand sloppily through his messy mass of mousy brown hair. He was so much more skinny and frail than his friend, who laid on the ground and panted hard. "I told you like two minutes ago for the hundredth time; we're being chased. You're lucky I pulled you out of that tight spot back there," James said. Once his parents had found out what he was up to with his friend, they quickly panicked and demanded that half the staff in the kitchen go out and look for them.

James leaned against the stair railing, but slipped off and decided to just lean against the wall; he was too drunk to properly steady himself.

"Bro, my eyesight is going," Zee said, flailing as he sat up. Sweat rolled down his round face and he blinked hard, shaking his head.

"Let's get to the roof," James said, ignoring Zee and taking an unnecessary gulp of air as he stumbled clumsily towards his fallen friend.

"Oh, you gonna make me climb up more stairs? That's bullshit, man…" Zee flopped forward, reaching out slamming his clammy hands against the hard concrete.

"You wanna get caught or no?" James blinked rapidly as he was forced to grasp Zees legs and heave him up the stairway, very slowly in order to stop every other step to regain his strength. James wiped sweat from his brow as he continued to pull Zee up the stairs, reaching the next landing and spinning him on his stomach.

"Huh?" Zee seemed to almost go unconscious, letting his friend drag him without realizing what was happening.

"We don't got too much more to go, I don't think," James muttered, determined to reach the roof in order to avoid the horrid wrath of his terrible parents.

…

"Great, guys, just great! My mom says that now, because we came in so late, and apparently half of the chefs are looking for some rogue teenagers, we have to wait like thirty minutes for our free meal," Alya snapped angrily.

Marinette and Adrien blinked, watching Alyas rage ensue.

"Damn, Alya, I didn't know that this was so important to you," Marinette sneered, gesturing to Nino, who stood right beside her. Alya suddenly realized what her friend was implying when she saw her gestures.

"Girl, I told you, this has nothing to do with me and Nino!"

Marinette groaned in frustration. "Then why can't you just tell Adrien and me what this is all about?" she exclaimed.

Alya paused, glancing at Nino, who only shrugged.

"I told you, I'll tell you later, it's just that…" Alya began.

The four of them suddenly froze when they heard a voice pierce through the air like knives. "Oh my God, don't tell me that's…" Marinette said, her eyes flying to the top of the stairs, searching at the point where they forked off to either side.

"Chloe," Nino mumbled, searching the stairs as well.

"Hide for your lives, you guys!" Alya whispered, turning to them all frantically and pushing the group behind the jumble of comfy chairs.

"Guys, maybe we shouldn't…" Adrien muttered helplessly, but didn't try to stop his friends as they ducked behind the chairs on the carpet. He knew more to Chloe's background then they did, but he couldn't blame them for their disgust in her; she was cruel and mean, not to mention a complete brat and too self conceited to make any friends.

Adrien kneeled beside Nino, searching the lobby for the presence of Chloe. "Oh my gosh, it's her…" Marinette groaned, gritting her teeth when she saw the skinny figure of her enemy.

"We are _not_ letting that spoiled brat come anywhere near us," Alya hissed, deciding to sit on the floor. "Nino! Get down, don't let her see you!"

"What are you talking about? I'm as low as I can get!" Nino replied.

" _Sit_ on the ground, then!" Alya said, tugging on his arm.

"Fine -"

Marinette scowled as Nino was unable to lower himself down any further.

"I can't sit there, your hand's in the way, Alya!"

"Nino, that's my _foot_. You can sit on my foot, can't you?"

"I swear to God, you guys are so annoying," Adrien told Nino with an annoyed shake of his head. Chloe hurried down the left side of the stairs and proceeded down the middle set to the lobby.

Her blonde ponytail was swinging behind her head in anger, her hands clenched into fists by her side. Marinette could recognize that figure anywhere; the most annoyed and conceited bitch face she ever saw, with a voice that came close to a screech whenever she talked.

"Daddy!" Chloe bellowed, running through the lobby like a five year old.

She came up to the mayor, who was still in deep conversation with the hotel butler. "Daddykins, Sabrina and I were only minding our business when some ten or so chefs came running down the hallway and causing a huge racket. Would you, like, tell them to head back to the kitchen or something - if you ask me, they belong on toilet duty - so I won't be bothered?"

The butler glanced at Chloe and back to her father. The mayor grinned apologetically at him and turned to speak to his daughter. "Chloe, could you maybe repeat that?" her father said. She threw her hands up in total annoyance and let out a frustrated scowl. Her expression softened when a certain thought appeared to have entered her head.

"Wait, have you seen Adrien come in?" Chloe asked, her mood seemed to have changed dramatically, and peered at the lobby entrance in interest.

As she rambled on with her father about Adrien Agreste, the group hiding behind the chairs turned to face one another. "Oh shit," Adrien mumbled under his breath, glancing worriedly at Chloe.

"There's no way we can stay here," Alya told them. "Not if she's onto Adrien."

"I agree. What do you suggest? We make a run for it?" Nino asked.

"I mean...I guess," Alya said, glancing around the lobby worriedly, making sure that Chloe, her dad, and the butler were the only pairs of eyes in the lobby.

 _This is just perfect,_ Marinette thought. They were hiding behind lobby chairs to avoid Chloe, and there was no way she wouldn't clumsily embarrass herself like always.

"Just get to the stairs and run as fast as you can," Alya directed. She crawled past Adrien and Nino to the last chair on the row, peeking her head around the corner to check if the coast was clear.

Marinette peered around Adrien to watch as Alya began to make her way on all fours toward the stairs. Nino shrugged at his friends before following the crazy girl out in the open.

"Oh damn, are they _actually_ doing it?" Marinette shook her head, still kneeling with Adrien behind the cover of lobby chairs.

"Let's go," Adrien whispered, and Marinette gulped as she crawled up next to him, peeking around the chairs to see if Chloe was watching. Before Marinette had safely determined that they could proceed out into the open, Adrien started hurrying after Nino and Alya on all fours, and Marinette was forced to crawl beside him.

Adrenaline pumped through her blood quickly, desperate to not be spotted by Chloe. The fear of being seen, since all it took was one glance, was rushing through her rapidly and she grit her teeth. Chloe's words were faint in the air like a distant conversation, and Marinette feared the moment that Chloe would stop babbling to turn and spot them.

Marinette glanced ahead, noticing that Alya and Nino had both made it to the foot of the velvet covered stairs. Alya dashed up quickly and turned left, hiding behind the wall that concealed the stairway that forked off to the left. Nino stood up when he reached the stairs and began to run upwards after her. He'd only taken about three steps when he tripped and fell, yelling as he regained himself.

Alya smacked her forehead.

Marinette and Adrien stopped dead. They turned with worried expressions to Chloe and her father.

"At least it wasn't _me_ who tripped," Marinette muttered to herself. Her face went pale and her heart sped faster by the second when Chloe was stopped mid-sentence to turn around and face them.

" _What_ is going on here?" came Chloe's demanding voice. Nino hurriedly scrambled up the stairs and quickly took cover beside Alya. Chloe angrily started marching towards Adrien and Marinette, who were sitting on the floor dumbstruck.

"Run, you idiots, run!" Alya shouted, trying not to burst out in giggles.

Adrien didn't care that the mayor of Paris was watching at this point, or that an enraged Chloe was stomping her way over to them. He grabbed Marinette's wrist and heaved her off the floor, practically dragging her behind him as he sprinted away from Chloe.

"Adrikins, where are you going? Get back here! How dare you run away from me!" Chloe darted after the pair, screaming at the top lungs.

"Get into that elevator!" Marinette shouted, pointing to one on the far right that had opened up, just as a businessman carrying a suitcase walked out. Luckily for them, the row of elevators was behind the group of chairs they'd been hiding behind, and they didn't have too far to run. Adrien plunged quickly into the elevator, startling the businessman and causing him to spin around wildly.

"Well, don't just stand there! Grab them!" Chloe yelled, furiously pointing at the two teenagers, scowling when the man only turned to her and stared confusedly.

Marinette couldn't help laughing as she encouraged Adrien to close the elevator door quicker, his hand still grasping her wrist tightly. "Adrien, she's getting closer!" she said, grinning when she saw Chloe shriek as the elevator doors closed shut in her face.

The couple collapsed on the floor, laughing and panting from the excitement. "Nino - that idiot, he can be so clueless sometimes-" Adrien started saying.

"Did you see Chloe and how mad she was when she chased us?" Marinette exclaimed, leaning her head backwards as she laughed.

Adriens laughter began to fade. He felt sorry for Chloe sometimes, and right now he didn't want to have to deal with her wrath, since he was unsure of how she'd respond to seeing him run away from her. Sometimes he told himself that returning her cruelty would only make her a more vicious and mean person. But people like her would never learn otherwise; who would talk to her and teach her a lesson?

Her father? Of course not.

That was a problem.

Adrien was tired especially of her love interest in him, since he was sure it was fake and all she did was add on to his personal stress. Besides, they weren't exactly being cruel to her; Chloe would definitely do much worse in this situation.

Adrien looked at Marinette, at her lively spirit, and thought he hadn't seen her this happy around him before. He loved the way her black hair fell around her face, the way her eyes shone triumphantly. It all reminded him of someone else, like this was all way too familiar.

Marinette couldn't believe her luck of being in this strange situation, and suddenly looked down to notice that Adrien was still holding onto her wrist. They both suddenly became silent, and Adrien quickly let go.

"Sorry," he said, unable to take his gaze away from her bluebell eyes. Marinette felt her face flush hot pink, and she rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"No, you're fine," she said, showing a warm smile. "I'm sorta surprised I didn't freak out and panic, I mean I was, but I was surprised I wasn't the one who tripped."

Marinette became confused in her actions, wondering why she was suddenly able to talk to him without stuttering and able to begin conversation. "I'm kinda surprised I ran from Chloe like that. I fully expected myself to surrender," Adrien said. Marinette looked up at him meekly, feeling as though she was continuously shrinking smaller and smaller. She glanced past his head above her and saw the buttons with floor numbers imprinted upon them, and her eyes suddenly went wide.

"Wait a minute - are we even moving?" They both staggered to their feet, eyeing the door wearily as if Chloe would plunge through at any second. Adrien pushed the second floor swiftly, and they filled with relief as the elevator began to rise.

…

"Get back here, you pesky brats!"

Alya and Nino were sprinting as fast as they could to avoid Chloe. She had almost been right on their tails, but she paused to complain about how running was ruining her hair before chasing them again.

They dashed down a hall from the lobby and headed to a kitchen door at the end. "Get in here, Nino!" Alya said. She stopped at the door, frantically turned around to check for a girl with all yellow apparel, and shoved Nino through the kitchen door.

"How'd you know this place was here?" Nino asked, staring around at the big room. There were constant rows of crates on wheels spread out in front of them, and counters with various cooking utensils behind the crates. The place was deserted; no chef was in sight, and the kitchen looked pretty clean against the checkerboard floor and walls.

"My mom - duh," Alya shrugged, and turned to glimpse through the circular window in the door. "Dammit - Nino, she's coming!"

"Shit, I thought we lost her," Nino groaned.

"Hide!" Alya hissed, and ran past the row of carts and disappeared behind a counter aisle. Dumbstruck, Nino glanced at the door, then followed the direction that Alya had gone, but he was too late. The door flung open with a loud bang, and Nino was forced to throw himself somewhere within the rows of carts.

"I know you're in here, Miss brat," came the outraged voice of Chloe. Nino peered through the legs of the carts and saw white capris begin to walk around the kitchen, her footsteps echoing loudly off the walls. Suddenly nervous and sweating, Nino rolled onto his stomach underneath a cart, pressed against the floor, hidden from being out in the open aisle. He tensed and felt adrenaline pump through him as he watched the menacing way Chloe slowly walked, past his row without seeing him, thankfully, and she proceeded to search elsewhere.

"You know, my daddy will kick you two out of this hotel," Chloe shouted. "And that bitch brat Marinette. Adrikins is an exception, but only if I forgive him for siding with _you._ "

Nino gritted his teeth in anger. He may have let his crush for Marinette go, but he still cared for her more deeply than most girls. It was confusing, but once he developed a crush on someone, that particular attraction to them never really went away.

Angrily, Nino slid himself out from under the cart and stood up, his expression mean and unfriendly.

Realizing he wasn't supposed to purposely get caught, Nino dove back to the ground just as Chloe turned and caught a glimpse of him. He was on the floor again, helpless, and out in the open. Chloe marched over to the row just ahead of him.

"Oh, you're seriously playing this game, Nino? Like a baby? What the hell do you think this is? Child's play?"

His one goal was to get to Alya and run from an impeding Chloe. Nino bolted down the aisle, on all fours, quickly crawling to the end of his row.

Chloe bent down and peered under the carts to try and reveal Ninos hiding spot. When he glanced over and saw her occupied with searching under the carts, he took his chance and sprung from his row, across the aisle with Chloe, and to the corner of a kitchen counter.

He sighed quietly in relief, watching as Chloe began to look around confusedly and walk around, back in front of the counter aisle he was hiding in. Unfortunately, the counters lacked an empty bottom to hide under like the crates, so in panic, Nino scooted around the edge of the counter to hide where she wouldn't see him.

As he rounded the corner of the counter, he saw a body moving at the same time to the same spot behind the aisle. The body, Alya, and Nino both jumped in startlement, before realizing that their bustle caused Chloe to quickly turn around.

Alya brought a finger to her lips, angrily glaring at Nino. She peeked around the corner of the counter silently, sitting pressed up beside Nino.

To her shock, Chloe was headed down the aisle, about to reveal them if they didn't move soon.

Alya turned to Nino and pointed to a stray cart that loomed ahead of them, one that was outcast to the rows in the kitchen.

Making sure Chloe's eyes were trained somewhere else as she walked down their aisle, Alya dove under the cart in front of her, rolling onto her back.

Nino saw her gesture to follow her, but he wasn't stupid; there was no way he was going to fit with her down there. Shaking his head, Nino curled into a cowering ball as he heard Chloe's footsteps approach him from behind him.

Alya waved her hand again, with anger and more movement. Glancing from behind his shoulder and back to Alya, Nino shut his eyes and dove beneath the cart just as Alya had done. He felt her hands grip his arms and heave him on top of her in order for them to fit fully concealed.

Nino went red when he felt his blue t-shirt slide up, his exposed stomach pressed against Alya's fleece jacket. He couldn't help staring down at her, her determined expression peeking out from under the cart to spy on Chloe.

Alya's hands were like vice grips against his arms as she pulled him steady against her.

"Ugh, I don't have time for this stupid shit. You cowards will eventually come out of the dirty holes you're hiding in, anyways. Just know that all I'm really after right now is Adrikins and that annoying Marinette. Later losers," Chloe said as she strolled out of the kitchen, obviously trying to remain calm and cool but failing.

She was still enraged as she stormed out, anger and hatred just boiling under her skin. When she slammed the doors shut behind her to indicate her presence was no longer near them, Nino finally took a breath.

"Finally, she's gone," he said with relief.

"This is all your fault, you dumbass! Why the hell did you have to trip, you lousy, stupid jerk?" Alya rolled her eyes and shook her head, pinned between Nino and the floor. "This whole night is _ruined_. All I wanted was to get Adrien and Marinette together, and now I'm going to be grounded!"

Nino smirked. "Don't worry, they are together. Because of me, don't forget. I mean, you helped, of course, this night was all your idea, but I mean, I got them together just now because-" Nino was unsure of the cause for his sudden stuttering problem.

The next thing he knew, Alya had leaned upwards and planted her lips against his. They shared the kiss for several seconds before Alya quickly brushed her tongue against his and pulled back, grinning at the red face of a speechless Nino.

"Great story, Nino. Can you get off me now?"

…

The elevator didn't take long to reach the second floor. Adrien and Marinette eagerly looked out when the automatic door opened, but they were horrified by what they saw.

Marinette dimly recognized the short and tiny figure of a girl down the hall, with large glasses, a nerdy outfit, and short cut brown hair. She was on the phone, and she slowly turned around to face the elevator without noticing the two teenagers.

"Is that Sabrina?" Marinette asked.

Adrien squinted harder and nodded. "Yep. Chloe's servant," he mumbled.

"Okay Chloe, sure, I'll start looking for them and I'll bring them to you right away." Sabrina ended the phone call and glanced up at the elevator. Adrien and Marinette failed to move quickly enough out of her sight, and she gasped when she saw them.

"Adrien? Wait, come back here! Chloe wants you!"

Sabrina started jogging over to them, but Adrien pushed Marinette around the corner and down another hallway.

"Come on, Marinette, run!" Adrien shouted.

Confused and unsure of the situation, yet having fun running from Chloe and her evil assistant, Marinette laughed as she bolted beside Adrien down the hall. "Which way are we supposed to go?" She shouted, pointing to the hallways ahead that forked off in either direction.

"Left!" Adrien yelled.

They were impressive runners, and usually the best during PE. Both of them had gained that skill from their superhero alter egos, since running played a major role in their everyday tasks.

Sabrina was somewhat way behind them, waving her arms and shouting for them to stop.

"She'll never catch up," Marinette giggled.

"I know," Adrien said, flashing her a mischievous grin.

"Chloe is not happy right now about all this! Why are you running away, Adrien? You're choosing to follow _her_ instead of Chloe?"

Adrien ignored Sabrina and laughed with Marinette. "Where would I even follow Chloe to? The gates of hell?" he said so only Marinette could hear.

Marinette snorted, never thinking she'd ever hear those words come out of Adrien's mouth, and causing herself to stumble forwards and trip. Excitement and fear filled her all at once as she glanced behind her and saw Sabrina gaining on them.

"Crap!" Adrien shouted, and retreated backwards to seize Marinette's forearm and pull her to her feet. Sabrina was much closer now, and they approached the two new hallways in panic.

"Chloe is going to make sure you both are kicked out of this hotel!" they heard Sabrina uselessly shout.

"Hurry, let's go right," Adrien whispered into Marinette's ear, putting his hands on her shoulders and guiding her around the corner.

The pair rounded the corner and out of Sabrina's sight, but they only had seconds before she'd show up behind them.

"Get behind this door!"

Adrien guided Marinette behind the hallway door. It was pretty massive and was held open all on its own. The couple had no problem squeezing through the small space between the door and the wall and hiding from Sabrina.

Marinette's heart rate was beyond infinity. She couldn't believe she was able to spend this much time alone (almost) with Adrien, even if they were being pinned by a wall and a hallway door. His shoulder brushed hers as he peeked out the door to spy on Sabrina, checking to see if the coast was clear.

"Okay, we're good. She went straight past us," he said.

Adrien retracted from the space and Marinette followed him out into the open, happy but sad at the same time to be free from the doors enclosure.

"Where do we go now?" she asked. Adrien looked and saw that her eyes were filled with a wild excitement and eagerness to break the rules.

"I say we go to the roof," Adrien said, grinning. "I'll phone Nino and tell them to meet us there when they get the chance."

Marinette glanced behind Adrien to confirm that Sabrina really had gone down the right hallway and didn't see them now walking in the opposite direction.

"What if they're in a tight spot right now and calling isn't the best idea?" Marinette asked, making her way farther down the left hall. Adrien followed her, overjoyed by Marinette's normal behavior she was finally portraying.

"They can always run and escape. Or I could just text them," he replied simply . They walked with a fast pace, but slow enough to have a normal conversation.

"This is...pretty intense," Adrien said thoughtfully. Marinette laughed.

"Well, usually anything that has to do with Chloe is intense, but this is definitely the most, um, _strangest_ thing I've been through when it comes to her," she remarked.

"I guess this night was worthwhile after all," Adrien said, debating whether or not he should put his arm around her shoulder. "Not that it wasn't before, but I mean it won't be centered around Alya and Nino anymore, instead it can just be…"

Marinette tensed slightly, wondering what he was going to say.

What did he mean, that it was more centered around them now?

"Well, y'know," Adrien said shyly as Marinette looked up at him.

"I guess we can be more involved, right?"

Marinette and Adrien blushed at the same time and turned their gazes away from one another.

"Y-yeah, I know what you mean," Marinette stuttered, knowing that what she wished Adrien had said was too good to be true.

 _She has no idea what I wanted to say_ , Adrien thought miserably, wanting to punch himself. Why did he feel this attraction to Marinette anyways? He was already so deeply in love with Ladybug.

He figured that he'd be fine falling in love with Marinette if Ladybug was going to reject him.

Then why was he trying to get Marinette to like him as Adrien?

Wasn't Chat Noir the one he wanted her to like?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter: 3

James felt his eyelids droop and his head start to ache as he laid back on a pool chair, covering his face with his forearm. He was exhausted from dragging Zee up the stairs, and his over amount of alcohol was causing him to almost pass out.

Sweat stained his thin blue shirt, his breathing heavy in long gasps for air. Zee was lulling around on the pool deck, lying on the floor as James shook his head, using any remaining strength he had left in his drained muscles. With one last glance at his drunk friend, James went limp in his chair and fell unconscious.

"J-James," Zee blurted loudly. He didn't comprehend the fact that James had passed out on the pool deck chair. The sun had finally set behind the tall buildings surrounding the hotel, causing the night sky to go pitch black. It was hard to see up on the roof without any lights, and Zee could barely make out his surroundings. Little did he know that he was only rolls away from accidentally tipping his body into the hotel pool beside him.

"Bro, can you hear me?" Zee shouted through the dark. It took him immense effort to sit up, his body struggling to pull his back off of the ground. Zee pushed back on his hands and tried to lean forward, but his hand slipped from underneath him. Instead of sitting up, he slammed his back against the ground as he fell, losing his balance and rolling to the side drunkenly.

There was a loud splash, water shooting in the air as Zee's body collided onto the surface of the pool. To him, the water must have appeared out of nowhere. The pool was pitch black and hardly noticeable, and anyone who took a wrong step could accidentally fall in. Zee managed only a few sharp kicks underwater, his energy and strength completely failed to roll over on his back, too drunk to properly think or realize the gravity of his situation. His arms only flailed, waving bubbles around underneath the surface.

His entire body was soaked, the wet t-shirt of his back sticking out on the surface of the water. Soon, his vision, already blurred as he stared ahead into the chlorine, faded without him realizing. The air in his mouth escaped, the last bubbles of his breath reaching the surface. Zee's head ached with great pain and his nose stung, and pretty soon, he was motionless as his dead body floated in the water.

…

The splash was loud; loud enough to suddenly jerk James back to consciousness. He sat upright from his lying position on the pool chair, glancing around with his large gray eyes into the darkness. He rubbed his head, feeling a queasy and uncomfortable sensation pierce throughout his head. Slowly, James stood up, his knees slightly shaking with weakness.

"Zee?" he called, suddenly remembering the current events that had just taken place.

A _swoosh_ sound emerged from the pool surface, a sound of bubbles hitting the top and releasing air. James spun to face the direction of the pool, which was practically invisible in the dark. "Zee?" he yelled again, moving closer to the edge of the pool deck. Peeking over the side, James felt his eyes adjust to the blackness, able to make out the general outline of the hotel roof.

Squinting, James stared hard at the spot where he'd heard the water move. It took a few seconds, but his eyes finally spotted the drenched shirt sticking out of the water.

His eyes grew wide. The fatigue of his drunkenness still slightly lingered over him, but the body of Zee floating in the water was unmistakable. James ran a nervous and shaking hand through his hair, his heart beat increasing.

"Zee?" he said again.

No response.

"Come on, bro, tell me this is a joke. Get out of the water, Zee."

James' lower lip trembled as the body continued to float, making its way toward the middle of the pool. No. This couldn't be happening. Could it be that his carelessness in showing his friend alcohol turned out to be the death of his best friend? No, James refused to truly accept it. Without Zee, his life would be torture, utter horror without his best friend by his side.

His first instinct was to wait a while longer for his friend to stop joking and come out of the water, but before James knew it, he flung himself over the edge and into the pool. He wasn't the best swimmer, but he had at least learned how to not drown when he was younger. That had been a horrific experience; his father had tossed him into an ice cold lake in frustration, and for the sake of surviving, James had learned how to swim that day.

James wasn't fond of the water after that, but this was a different situation. The survival of his best friend was at stake. He trudged through the water, walking on the bottom as the water quickly flew past his waist. As he reached the middle of the pool, only meters away from Zee, the floor of the pool descended beneath his feet. James freaked when he realized he was entering the deep part of the pool.

Treading water, he doggy-paddled slowly to the floating body, trying his best not to submerge himself and choke on the water. James reached his arms out in front of him, grasping onto the wet shirt of the body. He found it hard to maneuver through the water while pulling his friend along with him. James felt relief when the concrete bottom of the pool finally touched his feet.

He pulled his friend towards him, standing upright in the shallow water. Using all of his strength, James tugged hard on the dead boy's bloated arm, unintentionally dipping the front part of his body deeper into the water to pull him closer. Waves of water and loud splashes contributed to James' desperate struggle. The gravity of the thought that his friend was most likely dead was great, but he was not going to live his life in misery if he had even a slight chance not to.

…

The door that entered onto the roof suddenly burst open, and the noise of loud laughter and chatter filled the air, followed by the two figures of Marinette and Adrien. They didn't realize that the sky had already turned black as it fell into evening, but frankly, they didn't care. As long as they were away from Chloe and Sabrina, and hopefully well hidden on the roof, they were satisfied.

"That was _scary_!"

"Did you see her _face_?"

"I knew I'd trip at least once tonight!"

Adrien and Marinette's eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, but they were facing each other, laughing. Marinette made out Adrien's glowing green eyes, but didn't see much else against the black sky. Those were the only things she wanted to keep her eyes on, anyway.

"Ugh, I can't see anything out here," Marinette muttered, hugging her arms as she felt the cool evening breeze blow against her skin.

"Aren't there supposed to be lights in the pool or something?" Adrien inquired, glancing out into the dark.

The moment he had said "pool," their gazes trailed over to the long, black spot on the ground of the roof. It was then that they realized a noise was emitting from the water, a noise that they hadn't heard before over their loud laughing and chatter. It became apparent that people were in the water, slightly splashing and causing the whole pool to shake with waves.

"Why are people up here?" Marinette whispered, looking up at Adrien. He squinted in the darkness, starting to make his way over to the pool edge as he shrugged at Marinette. She followed him, her eyes focused on the faint outlines of two figures in the pool.

"Hello?" Adrien asked. Their eyes began to focus, able to just barely make out the dim shapes of the whole roof. Marinette saw a boy, a teenager a little older than herself and Adrien, nearly thrashing around in the water as he heaved on another person.

Her eyes went wide when she realized that the other boy was facing downwards, motionless as he floated in the water.

From her angle, and of what she could hardly make out in the dark, the flailing boy was purposely submerging the other one. A quick assumption came to Marinette's mind as she suddenly thought that the boy had drowned the person. She stumbled backwards slightly, pointing a shaking finger at the boy in the water.

"You - You _killed_ that boy!"

Adrien turned to her, having drawn the same conclusion from what he saw in the pool. James suddenly stopped his struggle of trying to get his friend out of the water when he heard Marinette's shriek. He gazed up at the two teens, this being the first time he noticed they were up there. He had been crying, but his face was already wet with pool water that his tears blended in perfectly.

"What?" he croaked, standing in the pool, fully clothed, holding his dead friend's arm close to him.

"Why would you do that? You _killed_ him! You actually _killed_ him!" Marinette was barely able to utter out her words as she went into complete shock at the scene. Her eyes were trained on the floating body, watching it lull around beside James, dead.

James stared at the couple wide eyed, looking back from Marinette to Adrien. He glanced at Zee once, longingly, before turning back to them.

"You think I killed him?"

The fact that James would be accused of drowning his one and only best friend was appalling to him. He realized his scene in the pool could pass for a murder, but to think that he'd ever do that was unfathomable.

"We saw you drowning him," Adrien said, his words hardly a whisper. He was in just as much shock as Marinette was, completely taken aback by the fact that they happened to stumble upon a crime scene.

"I was trying to save him!" James pleaded, feeling his wet tears roll along the side of his face again.

"I'm calling the police," Marinette said, diving into her purse for her phone.

"What?" James cried, watching her in aghast. "I'm innocent! You _can't_ call the police! You think I'd kill my best friend?" His voice suddenly rose in anger, finding the moment a perfect one to take out his hatred and rage.

"You can't accuse me of this! I'M TELLING YOU I'M INNOCENT!" James thrashed his arm on the surface of the pool, yelling in rage.

Adrien slowly backed away from the pool edge, his arm out in front of Marinette to push her backwards with him. "Marinette," he whispered. "Hurry up."

"Hello? Yes, I'm at the Grande Paris Luxury Hotel on the roof beside the pool. There's a teenager up here in the pool, and I saw him drowning another boy… yes, he's still in the water… no, I'm with my friend… yes, please, thanks." Marinette finished the call, her voice in a high panic. Never before had she witnessed a crime scene without her Ladybug suit on, a murder much less, and she was completely oblivious on how she was to handle the situation without a yoyo.

"ALL I DID WAS TRY TO HELP MY FRIEND! WHY THE HELL DID YOU CALL THE POLICE?" James screamed in anger. He knew that with the police, his father was involved, and that meant devastating news for him. If there was one thing he was most irritated about, it had to be being accused of something he didn't do.

The truth was, Adrien and Marinette were barely real witnesses. In their panic, they had assumed something that wasn't true when they saw that a dead body was being involved. He had already been dead before they came up there, but the reasonable assumption that James had drowned him satisfied their minds better. Backing farther and farther away from the deranged teenager, Marinette and Adrien stood in fear, anticipating the arrival of the police.

…

The roof was illuminated with lights, making it easier to see the roof against the black sky. Who must've been the dead boy's parents were sobbing and whimpering loudly, huddling together as a policeman comforted them. The medical examiners had already taken the dead body and carried it away on a stretcher, having confirmed an estimated time and cause of death.

James Cornfield had been immediately handcuffed, despite his desperate pleas. He had been forced to wait beside a buff police officer on a pool chair, waiting to be taken out of the hotel and down to the police cars. His angry rage turned into emotional sadness as tears fell down his cheeks, his outrages and screams having been silenced into misery.

Chloe was with her father, cowering and faking a crying fit as the mayor of Paris discussed the horrible scene with an officer. The mayor didn't seem to be in a good mood at all as he snapped and argued with the policeman. He knew he'd have paperwork to file and have to discuss certain arrangements with the dead boy's parents.

Alya and Nino had finally made it up, shocked by what they'd seen, and had stayed together as they watched Marinette and Adrien answer questions to an officer. They spoke quietly to themselves, eyeing their friends worriedly. Alya had been saved a grounding by her mother for running in the mayor's hotel like a five year old when a dozen policemen stormed through the hotel, making their way quickly to the roof after explaining to the mayor about a recent murder.

"So, you didn't exactly see the murder?" asked an officer named Warren Dickson. He and his partner, Officer Johnny Bruce, had begun to question them as soon as they arrived, being the first eager policemen to burst out onto the roof.

"No, we didn't...but it was pretty obvious," Marinette said nervously. "Both of them were in the water, and one of them was submerging the other one. Our first thought was that he was trying to drown him…"

Adrien nodded to confirm.

Dickson was a tall, young officer who didn't have to shave yet. Bruce was shorter than him by at least a head, with red hair and a sharp jawline. "Right, well, that kid is pretty well intoxicated. Who knows what could've happened to have made him want to drown that poor boy," Dickson said, and pointed to James, who was illuminated by a light and guarded by a tough looking cop.

"Just a heads up, don't be surprised if your folks at home question you about this. There are some nosy TV reporters down at the front of the building, so I'll bet your families might hear about this. I know how you kids can be, trying to avoid telling your parents about serious stuff like this," said Dickson bluntly. Marinette and Adrien exchanged glances.

 _Perfect,_ Marinette thought miserably. Her parents were known for freaking out over cases much less intense as this one, and she felt ungrateful that her parents constantly watched the news. _I guess I'll sure be in for it tonight._

"Well, I guess it's a good thing my dad doesn't even think twice about watching the news," Adrien muttered to Marinette. She looked up at him with a curious expression, unsure of what he meant by that.

Officer Bruce was examining the paper with notes he'd taken on Marinette and Adriens interview. "I think that pretty much covers it -" he said, giving Marinette a warm smile and looking at her with interest.

"Hold up, I've got one more question," Dickson said after searching over the paper. "Why exactly were you two coming up here by yourselves again?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at them.

"You weren't doing anything to get in trouble, were you?" Bruce said, almost looking as if he was going to laugh.

"Actually, we were running away from a particular mayor's daughter," Adrien said, glaring at Bruce. The two policeman turned to glance at Mayor Bourgeois, who was now speaking sympathetically to the dead boy's parents. They spotted Chloe as she filed her nails, standing by her father in obvious boredom.

"Yeah, I see what you mean," said Dickson, turning back to the two teenagers. Marinette folded her arms as the officer tucked the paper away from sight. "We'll see you two around soon," he said, nodding at them before walking away towards an angry-looking man.

"Well, thanks for letting us interview you. If there's anything you need, just let us know," said Bruce, flashing Marinette a wink before following his partner to talk to James' father.

Marinette was honestly terrified by the situation. James Cornfield, she'd heard was the boy's name, looked rugged and mostly beat up when she was able to get a good view of him in the brights lights. His hair fell in his face messily as he slouched over on a pool chair beside his guard, his cheeks stained badly with dried tears. Marinette felt horrible as well. She was positive he'd killed that boy, but something kept nagging her from the inside, a feeling of strange guilt she didn't quite know why was there.

James' father, a stocky man with hair almost identical to his son's, pushed past officer Dickson and Bruce as he angrily came down upon the handcuffed teenager. His shouts were loud, and Marinette watched as he whacked James on the head hard, shouting at him and spitting out his mean words. James looked up at him, drunk, but his eyes posed anger and sadness. He quickly stood up, getting in his father's face as he shouted.

"I'M TELLING YOU, DAD, I DID NOT KILL ZEE! THOSE TWO IDIOTS ARE THE ONES WHO ACCUSED ME WITHOUT MY SIDE OF THE STORY!"

Marinette stared, stunned, as James turned to her and Adrien, practically shouting at them. He gestured with his handcuffed hands towards them, glaring them down with a sort of hatred, a mad anger that looked ready to be released upon them both.

The guard stopped the writhing James from lunging with fury at his father, who was already being held back by the two policeman. The police guard lifted James, who wriggled and yelled with rage, trying to escape his buff arms. Everyone around the crime scene watched as he was carried out of the light, screaming and yelling.

Marinette wanted to cry, to run away in guilt and sorrow when she saw James look directly at her fearful eyes.

"I HATE YOU TWO! I'LL GET YOU _BOTH_ FOR THIS - WHY DOESN'T ANYONE BELIEVE ME, DAMMIT! I NEVER KILLED ZEE! I NEVER -"

James grit his teeth, enraged as his screams were suddenly muffled when the guard left through the roof door. The mayor nervously turned back to the head police officer, and the angry dad shouted one last time at Bruce and Dickson before shaking his head and storming off the roof. The whole thing was a mess; the screams, the deceit, the anger. It was… a bit too much for Marinette.

"Hey - you okay?"

Marinette suddenly looked up at Adrien in fright, wondering if he was feeling the same way she was. "I-I don't know. I mean, I feel so, I don't know…" she stammered. Adrien placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, trying to avoid the blinding roof lights. Marinette felt the warmth of his hand cheer her up.

"I know, you may feel guilty. I mean we weren't exactly witnesses, but that boy was _drunk -_ I personally think it was the right thing to do, call the police," he said reassuringly.

Marinette flashed a fake smile, wrapping her arms around herself and suddenly feeling insecure. "Yeah...I should go, before my parents worry about me," she muttered.

Adrien felt disappointed, wishing he could do more to comfort her. "Good idea, I'll walk you -" He was cut off as a blonde girl threw her arms around his neck, startling him and causing him to jump a few paces back.

"Adrikins!" shouted the voice of Chloe.

Adrien scowled when he saw her. "Hey, _Chloe."_

"Oh, Adrien, this whole stupid crime murder thing is so scary. Actually - you know what scares me more?" She batted her eyes like usual, trying to flirt with him in an unconvincing way.

"What?"

"The fact that you ran from me! I mean, why did you do that? Especially to me! What, did that evil bitch Marinette mind control you or something?"

Any sympathy Adrien may have felt for Chloe before was gone. Nothing anyone could say to him was going to convince him that someone like Chloe was annoying to have around. He pushed her arms off of his neck, stepping away from her and glaring at her angrily.

"Marinette is not a _bitch_ , Chloe."

Chloe stared at him in shock. "What did you just say? You like her better now?" Adrien rolled his eyes and tried to walk past her. He suddenly noticed that Marinette had left, and he searched around to see if he could spot her. Alya was still on the roof, whispering with Nino. That told him Marinette wanted to be alone when she left the crime scene if she had decided not to drag Alya with her. He had wanted to talk with Marinette , and now he felt bad for leaving her while she was still upset.

Chloe stepped in front of him, thrusting her arms out. "Adrien, you aren't going to leave me again, are you? I won't let -"

Oh, well. He could just tell tonight was going to be a long one.

...

The ambulance holding the dead boy had long since sped ahead of the police car in a hurry. Officer Bruce spoke quickly into his radio, most likely about the alarming situation, while his partner sat behind the wheel. None of his chatter could be heard by James Cornfield in the back seat, who was secluded by a closed flap. If any noise made it back to him, it was muffled and anxious, but he wasn't listening.

His drunkenness hadn't worn off yet, and he was slumped without a seatbelt, hanging his head into his lap and resting his arms on his knees. Though he was intoxicated and not exactly in the right state of mind, James was emotional.

The events that had just occurred were traumatizing to him. His dark eyes were squeezed shut, powerless against a tear that forced itself out of his eyelid and rolled down his cheek. An image of Zee terrorized his mind, and he suddenly remembered why he was in a police car in the first place. He'd been wrongly accused, called a murderer.

Him?

Kill his best friend?

He hadn't even gotten the chance to defend himself before he was put in handcuffs, that were currently tight against his wrists. The two high schoolers who'd accused him weren't even witnesses; they'd only just assumed when they saw him.

 _It's all their fault_ , he thought, gritting his teeth. His head began to ache, more from the intimidating picture of the person who he'd never see again than from his overload of alcohol.

 _Those two sons of bitches should be put under arrest, not me. I never killed my friend, I'm not guilty!_ His body began to shake, heaving his already arched back forward.

James felt his anger directed at two kids whom he didn't even know: a kind of hatred that he never exactly knew he was capable of portraying. A constant flow of tears dampened his hollow face, sobbing and whimpering in extreme pain. Zee would be gone forever, and the thought of him not being able to do anything about it made him almost puke. His emotions continued to swallow him, to drown him in a never ending suffering.

It was late, and only blackness showed through the car window. No lights had been turned on in the back seat, so it wasn't a surprise when James never noticed a dark purple moth squeeze itself through the car door.

The vile creature struggled, and after a mad flap of its wings and painful wriggle of its body, the butterfly flew silently inside the car. James was still oblivious to the gruesome moths presence, even when it magically absorbed itself within the silver metal of his handcuffs. The cuffs turned into the color of the moth, and as soon as it was completely immersed inside, a floating butterfly mask appeared in front of James' face. He felt himself raise his neck, his brow furrowed in a mad frown.

"Hello, Transporter. My name is Hawkmoth. I am here to grant you powers that will help you achieve your desired revenge."

The voice seemed to speak to him through the glowing purple mask, a voice so cold and deep that James couldn't help feeling a bit intimidated. "Y-You mean to tell me, you can help me kill th-those two?" He wasn't sure how he was able to hear the low voice, or if the voice was able to hear him.

"Yes, with your new superpowers as _my_ supervillain. However, you must agree to repay me for my offering to you," Hawkmoth said.

James was completely oblivious as to how this guy was going to give him powers, but that was the least of his worries. He was desperate for any solution to his situation.

"What is it that you want?" he asked.

"When the time is right, I will help guide you to retrieve the miraculous jewels from Paris's superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir. Every villain before you has failed to give me those powers. I _need_ those miraculous, and I won't hesitate to remove your powers if you fail."

A sly grin spread over James' face, preparing himself to accept the deal. This opportunity came at just the right moment, and it seemed almost too good to be true. "Sounds easy enough, Hawkmoth. I'll get you those miraculous. It's a deal." The floating butterfly mask suddenly disappeared, and James smiled wickedly as a strange purple substance enveloped his body.

The voices over the radio had quieted down, and the commotion was less intense as the situation was under control. Officer Bruce finally shut his radio off, peering back at the flap that concealed James. He thought he'd heard noises, but he doubted himself, being exhausted and chatting for an hour on the radio.

"Dickson, you didn't hear that runt talking back there, did you?" he asked.

Officer Dickson seemed to be exhausted as well, his eyelids drooping as he kept his eyes glued to the road ahead, illuminated by the car's headlights. "Talking? No, I don't think so," he muttered, glancing at his partner.

Officer Bruce scowled at his own cautious and curious manner before opening the flap to peer at the backseat. What he saw made his eyes grow larger than a car tire and his complexion go deathly pale.

"HOLY SHIT!"

He instinctively jumped back in his seat, stumbling in the confined space. His outburst startled the half-asleep Officer Dickson, who immediately became consciously aware of his surroundings and accidentally swiveled the wheel all along the deserted road.

He almost flew out of his seatbelt, losing control of the car as it nearly drifted quickly to the other side of the road. Struggling to regain the wheel, Dickson clumsily swerved them back on track, pulling them just in time to a red light at an intersection. Dickson leaned against the steering wheel, panting with fright as his heart beat fast, terrified. His sweat glistened on his face from the surrounding traffic lights. Dickson turned wildly on his partner, a look of puzzlement on his face.

"What the hell was that, Bruce? I almost crashed the car, dammit!"

Bruce had been startled by the sudden squeak of the car tires against the blacktop, but his gaze still lingered on the boy in the back seats. "What are you looking-" Dickson began, but when he peered through the open flap, he nearly screamed like his partner.

A boy was sitting in the spot of James Cornfield, grinning mischievously. The police officers debated whether or not the boy was actually the same kid they'd picked up at the crime scene. He had wild, crazy hair an unnatural shade of red that matched his red and gray striped bodysuit and eyemask over a sickening shade of green skin. He wore brown knee high boots with ankle chains, and wore a similar chain belt around his waist that held a dagger.

The boy had handcuffs, but they were no longer connected together and were a strange shade of dark purple. The officers were stunned, staring at the mysterious boy. No sane person would've thought this was the pale, thin boy of James Cornfield, but the officers were well aware of the villain Hawkmoth terrorizing Paris and creating supervillains. Could this be a - what do they call it, akumatized? - victim of the evil Hawkmoth? The villain snickered at the sight of the officer's shocked expressions.

"I'd love to stick around, but I have some business to attend to. Hope you don't miss me," he snarled evilly.

He glanced at his right wrist that held one of the purple cuffs, then with his left hand, twisted the cuff. The officers were barely able to comprehend the situation when suddenly the villain was gone. James Cornfield, if that had really been him, disappeared without a trace. Stunned, the officers stared dumbly at a now empty seat, unaware that the light switched to green overhead.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter: 4

"Come on, Alya, what's wrong with _Creepy Summer?_ "

Marinette had no intention of returning to the bakery after school that afternoon, especially since all she had in store from her parents was frantic and worried lectures, scolds and hugs. Her parents didn't take too lightly what had occurred last night, especially when they found out she'd been apart of it. The news had interviewed Mayor Bourgeois and a few policeman, but she had slipped past them on her way out without being seen.

This Wednesday had been hot; Marinette felt uncomfortable sitting on the concrete steps outside the school building next to Alya as she hugged her knees close to her chest, rocking back and forth. She began to regret wearing a hot pink sweatshirt, but Alya had insisted that the subway and cinema theater was cold.

Alya was peering at her phone, intently swiping through the movies about to play at the cinema. Groups of chatting teens passed the two girls down the steps, headed home for the end of the day. Marinette glanced at them all, watching them continue on with their happy lives as if a murder hadn't just occurred at the Grand Paris Hotel last night.

In order to avoid her parents' worried panic and being cared for like a baby, Marinette was planning on seeing a movie with Alya straight after school, if they could find one.

" _Creepy Summer_ is a horror movie, girl! You _know_ I can't stand those."

Marinette scowled, but mostly for the stress of her complicated life taking over her than her annoyance with a picky Alya. She'd been in a bad mood all day, and she still couldn't quite determine what it was that was bothering her.

"What about _Think Twice?_ " Alya asked.

Marinette lifted her head from the comfort of her knees and looked over at Alya's phone screen. "Let me see."

Alya tilted the phone to show her friend the movie. Marinette squinted, angry at the sun's blinding light, and observed the front cover for the movie carefully. "What is it? Some kind of teen drama?"

Alya nodded her head in delight. "Yeah, and it looks really good. Let's go see it at 4:30 tonight, we've got about an hour before that showing."

Marinette sighed and plunged her face back into her knees. "Alya, you know I hate that high school drama shit," she muttered miserably. Marinette heard her friend's laughter from beside her. "Mari, you've been a serious wreck today, you know. Come on, what's up?"

Slowly, Marinette raised her head to look at her friend, who seemed intent on receiving an answer. Quite honestly, Marinette wasn't too sure herself. It couldn't be her usual stress over keeping her double identity a secret, or the fact that she didn't have strong enough trust with her best friend. No, this worry came from last night. She'd been carrying a feeling of guilt ever since that boy was arrested last night for murder of his friend.

Sighing, Marinette sat up straight beside Alya and ran a hand through her black bangs. "I-I guess, I guess I'm not over what happened last night, with the murder. That boy - he was drunk, but he seemed so certain he hadn't killed his best friend. And the thing is, I don't even really know for sure. I mean, I wasn't actually a witness, so really I don't know if he committed murder or not. And I'm the one who accused him without any good proof, and called the cops…"

Marinette still remembered the fright, the anger, the sadness in that teen's eyes when he found out he'd been accused of murder.

Damn, did they even ask for his side of the story?

What if he was seriously telling the truth?

Marinette had just completely screwed up, then. That boy was going to court, most likely, and it was her fault. She felt a strange mix of emotions that haunted and terrorized her mind, not letting her forget her guilt and sorrow for that boy. Marinette felt surprised when she saw a tear fall into her lap, staining the blue jeans she wore. She felt grateful when she felt the comforting arms of Alya wrap around her, hugging her close.

"Aw, Mari, it's okay. I understand you may still feel bad and it's okay to be a little confused, but don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong. If you want to talk more about it, girl, then we can. How about we go see _Creepy Summer_ at 5:00?"

Alya's hand beat Marinette's to wipe the tears off her cheek. Looking at her best friend's smile only made Marinette feel worse. Alya was always there for Marinette, and she was lucky to have a friend like her. Yet, she felt like she wasn't there for Alya the way she should be, the way a best friend should be. Marinette knew all of Alya's secrets, her biggest and smallest, and that was how a friendship should be.

Being Ladybug was a secret that even Alya couldn't know, and Marinette had always worried that by not telling her that one secret she had damaged their friendship. Trying not to show her further pain, Marinette hugged her friend and returned the warmest smile she could manage.

"Thanks, Alya, but I think I'd rather watch _Think Twice_ with you. That's what you wanted to see, right?"

Alya bit her lip nervously. "Are you sure, Mari? I thought you said you hated teen drama…"

Marinette laughed. "I'll watch it if you want to. Besides, watching horror movies with scaredy cats are no fun anyways," she said, standing up alongside her friend.

"If you say so, girl."

The two friends began to descend the stairs, giggling with one another as they passed various groups of teens. Neither of them, nor anyone else standing around, noticed a lone figure who'd been lurking behind a shady tree. He was concealed from sight, only a few meters away from the spot on the steps where Marinette and Alya had been sitting.

The figure eyed the girls from behind the tree, his attention on Marinette in particular. Casting a low smile on his hidden face, the stalker twisted an object on his wrist and suddenly vanished from behind the tree.

…

Adrien was exhausted.

The memory of last night's events haunted his head, and Nino hadn't shut up all day about his rage at hearing that Adrien's father would be gone for his birthday again this year. His hair was a pure mess, and if he didn't brush it out soon he'd begin to look like Chat Noir.

He tossed his school bag on his bed before heading over to his white sofa, placed before a wide, flat screen TV. On lazy days like these, Adrien was glad he lived in a mansion, even if material things for his room was his father's excuse to never see or talk to him because he was supposedly "happy" enough.

Adrien plopped himself on the white sofa, landing on his back. His mind had lingered on Marinette all day, despite the fact that he hadn't spoken to her once. He wasn't quite sure if she'd wanted to talk to him at all, since her manner around him was so much more awkward and nervous than the sarcastic and confident way she was with Chat Noir. Plus, she'd walked away from the crime scene from the night before without giving him a chance to comfort her.

She had reminded him greatly of Ladybug, almost as if they were the same person, yet she was a different version. Adrien could honestly say he loved that side of Marinette, the way she talked and flirted with him while he was a superhero.

Could it be possible Marinette had a crush on Chat Noir, yet at the same time she didn't like Adrien?

He was overjoyed she'd accepted him as his true self, something Ladybug herself had hardly done.

"Dammit, Adrien, almost out _again?_ The last time I looked in your bag, there were at least ten pieces in there!"

Adrien groaned when he heard that voice, preparing himself to be yelled at for not keeping an eternity's worth supply of camembert cheese. His tiny black kwami came flying over the edge of the couch, glaring down at the blond boy with his miniature green eyes. Adrien grimaced at the smell of the cheese the flying cat was holding.

"Look at this! It's not even a full piece and it's the last one!"

Adrien rolled his eyes and leaned his head farther back to avoid looking at the kwami. "Plagg, I'm sick of hearing your stupid problems twenty four seven, I mean seriously, get your own piece of damn cheese if you care about it so much." Forcing himself to sit up, Adrien snatched the remote from the edge of the sofa and clicked the TV on.

"What the hell did you just say, kid? You're really lucky I put up with you sometimes, y'know." Plagg flew miserably back to Adrien's schoolbag, grumbling unidentifiable complaints to himself. Adrien leaned back on the couch and lifted his feet up into a comfortable position.

"You're lucky I still bother to give you camembert, you piece of shit."

Plagg nestled himself within the open flap of Adrien's bag, biting into his cheese. "What did you just call me, you sad excuse for a human being?"

Adrien snickered as he surfed through the channels. "What? You are what you eat."

Plagg began to yell muffled shouts at Adrien through bites of camembert about how disrespectful he was for insulting his precious cheese, or something like that.

Adrien wasn't listening.

He had changed the channel to check the news, and the latest report caught his attention. On the screen were two young policeman, both being interviewed by Mrs. Shamak.

"He'd just been recently arrested for murder, though we were all uncertain of the situation," began the first police officer, "My partner here, Officer Bruce, was just checking on him when he screamed and I lost control of the wheel. When we got to a stoplight, I looked back and the kid was completely different. His clothes were strange and his hair and skin had-"

Adrien suddenly recognized the officers as the ones who had interviewed him and Marinette at the crime scene last night.

"-then he disappeared, just like that. We weren't even sure if that boy really was him-"

Was it possible that the boy who'd been arrested had been akumatized?

That possibility struck Adrien as quite alarming. He no longer felt the tired exhaustion from before, and leaned closer to the TV where the video cut from the officers to Mrs. Shamak standing next to a small video of a subway station.

"This newly akumatized victim, James Cornfield, has just been recently spotted in a metro station before mysteriously disappearing without a trace." The screen showed a close up of the surveillance video, showing a boy with a skin tight bodysuit with red hair and green skin. The pedestrians surrounding him shrieked with fright until he somehow vanished into the blue.

"We don't have any recent updates on his motives, but we are hoping that Ladybug and Chat Noir show up soon at the scene," said Mrs. Shamak, and the TV screen went black as Adrien switched it off. He needed to do something about this.

If that villain really was James Cornfield, then his motives would probably revolve around the murder of his friend.

Was it revenge that he was possibly after?

Hadn't it been him and Marinette who'd gotten him arrested?

Adrien's eyes suddenly grew wider than Nino's glasses. If this guy was after Marinette, he had to find her before anything would happen to her. Adrien felt confused as to why he felt a strange instinct to immediately protect Marinette, but he didn't have time to ponder the thought. He jumped quickly from the sofa and sprinted to his bed.

"Plagg, did you hear that?"

"I was hoping you hadn't," came the muffled voice of the black kwami, immersed in Adrien's schoolbag. "He's in the subway, Plagg, and I think he might be looking for Marinette. We need to go." If there was anyone he had to protect, it was her.

Adrien punched his fist in the air, ignoring the mumbling complaints of Plagg. "Plagg, claws out!"

What looked like a black gush of wind came flying out of the open schoolbag, emitting an annoyed and startled yell as it was suddenly sucked into Adrien's miraculous. Seconds later, after a green flash, Adrien's clothes were replaced with a black speedo bodysuit, a sudden change in his hair style and a black eyemask.

A grin spread over his face as it always did after his transformation. He might not be accepted as the person who he truly was, but being Chat Noir was such a relief compared to wearing a mask and pretending to be Adrien.

The only irony there was that he wore a mask as Chat Noir to conceal his identity, which bothered him on various levels.

Now, he was about to protect the one person who actually seemed to like his true self for his personality and who he was, not for his charming looks or the fact that he was a celebrity for saving the world every day:

Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

…

The subway station the two girls were waiting in was quite simple: there was the stairway leading up to the streets above, the stairway leading down to the main station, and the bathrooms behind a corner in the wall.

Marinette and Alya sat on a green bench, pressed against the white tiled walls as they waited for a subway bus to pull in. A group of people, waiting for a bus beside the girls, were crowding together, seeming to discuss one topic with one another in panic.

 _We r taking the subway. I'll be home around 7. Don't worry I have money with me. Love you._

Marinette hit the send button on her phone screen, and the text message delivered to her mother. She scowled, shaking her head at Alya.

"My moms always so worried about everything, like, damn woman, just ask one question at a time," she complained. Alya giggled and placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder.

"Oh, give her a break. You were just apart of a murder last night, y'know. My moms pretty chill, for the most part. But then again, she _does_ have to work full time as chef at the hotel."

Marinette snorted. "Well yeah, I figured that."

The girls' attention was suddenly turned to the frantic whispering of the group of people beside them. "What's going on?" Marinette asked, but Alya only shrugged.

"- spotted in the subway."

"Another _villain?_ Is Ladybug and Chat Noir showing up?"

"What about this station? Are we in danger?"

Confused, Marinette turned worriedly towards Alya, whose eyes grew wider than her own glasses. "Girl, I think that means there's another villain on the loose," she said, peering contently at the small group of adults. "Like-an akuma attack? _In_ the subway?" Marinette suddenly felt the descending pressure of her having to avoid a clingy Alya in order to transform.

A bright red alarm on the wall suddenly went off, scaring everyone in the station and causing red shadows. "This station is currently going on lockdown for your safety," echoed a robotics female voice from a speaker above. Marinette's face, which was already flashing red in the dim light, went pale.

She'd never be able to transform into Ladybug if they were all stuck there together. The group of people whimpered in fright as jail-like bars quickly dropped over the entrance to the station. "Marinette…" Alya muttered, glancing around in fear.

Marinette saw that the only way out, the stairs headed down to the main station, was about to be locked off by a slow moving row of bars, identical to the ones over the entrance way. An outburst of screams erupted from the group of people, and they scrambled around the bench and sprinted to the second stairway, ducking under the bars that were almost done closing off the exit.

Alya and Marinette jumped when they realized why they'd ran. A teen boy stood outside the entrance bars, wearing a skin tight suit striped red and gray that matched a bubble framed eyemask. He definitely looked like an akumatized victim. Marinette gaped in shock as she watched him twist a purple cuff on his wrist, vanishing, then reappearing only seconds later on the other side of the bars within the station.

"Mari - let's go, now!" Alya shouted, jumping in fright off the bench.

Marinette nodded, following her friend to the descending bars that almost fully covered the exit by now. Marinette had barely ran two steps when she tripped over nothing and fell flat on the ground. She watched helplessly as Alya ducked under the bars and sprinted down to safety. By now, Marinette was the only one left in the station with the villain.

 _Shit,_ she thought, trying to quickly scramble to her feet. _There's no way in hell I'm making it._

Everyone who'd been in the station, including Alya, were safe below in the main station as the bars finally crashed hard on the ground, closing off the remaining space of the exit. The flashing red light cleared, and the station lighted with regular yellow lights again. Marinette's heart sank, having hardly lifted herself off the ground when she saw a knife sticking out of the concrete ground only inches from her head, leaving cracks spread throughout the floor.

She suddenly realized she was screwed as she turned on her back, peering at the villain who'd thrown the knife at her.

He was walking towards her, his brown boots jingling with ankle chains and his face grinning evilly at her. His skin was a sickening shade of green, she realized, and his hair an unnatural color of red. She was motionless as she watched him from the floor, frightened but confused at the same time.

Had he specifically tracked her down?

What the hell did she do to him?

The villain kneeled by her head and swiftly pulled the knife from the concrete. She felt herself slam down against the floor as he swung himself over her body, pinning her to the ground.

Marinette didn't have too much experience being the hunted, especially since whenever a villain showed up she was a superhero. Panicking at the sight of him above her, Marinette tried to wriggle out from underneath him, using her arms to push the ground.

The villain smirked as he pressed his knees onto her forearms, trapping her from movement in her upper body. She uselessly kicked her legs behind him, yelping in pain at the weight of his knees against her arms.

"I really wouldn't move, if I were you," the villain snickered.

Marinette tried to conceal her fright when she saw him reveal his knife and twirl it threateningly in the air. "You must be confused - aren't you wondering why I'm specifically targeting you?"

Marinette winced as she felt pain spread throughout her arms.

"Well, that's a way to put it bluntly. But yeah, I am curious, please tell."

The villain smiled, continuing to admire his sharp dagger.

"Glad you're interested, little lady. You see, because of you, I was arrested, and I was accused of murdering my best friend. Do you know how that feels? Especially when I never actually committed the crime? If I remember correctly, you weren't even a witness. And now, I want my revenge."

Marinette gasped as he laughed menacingly. " _James?"_

The villain suddenly grimaced at her. "My name's not James, it's Transporter now, you stupid brat, and I won't stop until I've killed you and your boyfriend."

Guilt had spread throughout her already, especially since the intimidating Transporter had reminded her of the problem she'd just been trying to forget.

Now someone else was going to pay?

Was that because of her too?

"What? Who else are you going to kill?" Marinette tried not to cry as Transporter pressed his knees harder on her already bruised arms.

"That boy you were with? What's his name again? Adrien?" Transporter smiled wickedly when he saw her shocked expression. "But I guess that doesn't really matter, does it? I'm going to kill you first anyways."

Transporter laughed as Marinette groaned in pain at the weight of her captor, writhing underneath him as he traced the deadly sharp knife tip over the side of her face. Marinette's eyes posed fear and dread when he brushed the bangs out of her face with his dagger.

"Don't worry," he grinned evilly, watching her breathe heavily as he leaned closer to her face, "It'll be too late before anyone hears your screams."

Transporter lifted himself upwards in order to press his knees harder into her forearms, grinning with delight as Marinette began to scream with pain. She couldn't help thinking that she deserved to be tortured and hurt like this, but the pain was so great that she nearly lost her train of thought. Her arms ached badly, a piercing shock electrifying through her muscles.

Marinette's screams echoed loudly through the the subway station, ear piercing as they bounced off the tile walls and dark subway tunnels.

"CATACLYSM!"

Relief spread throughout Marinette when the Transporter's knees lifted off of her arms as he spun around to gaze angrily at Chat Noir. Marinette couldn't see him from under Transporter, but she was overjoyed by the fact that he was there to rescue her. Still planted on top of Marinette, Transporter gripped his knife firmly above his head.

Marinette writhed uselessly as she realized he was about to kill her. She could hear Chat Noir smash the bars, destroying them with his power.

"Chat Noir! Help!" she yelled, the Transporter ready to bring the knife down upon her. Marinette's eyes squeezed shut as she saw the knife come descending quickly on her throat.

An extendable metal staff came flying out from behind the villain, hitting his hand and forcing the knife to slide across the tile floor. With a yell of fury, Transporter leapt off of Marinette and dove for his knife, catching it before it slid off the edge and onto the subway tracks.

Marinette remained laying on the floor, moaning at the constant pain in her arms as she tried to move them. She watched as Chat Noir jumped high above in the air, spinning his baton over his head and aiming for the Transporter.

"Don't you _dare_ touch her again!"

The villain twisted his handcuffs quickly, enraged, and disappeared just as Chat Noir's staff came crashing hard on the spot where he'd been. Chat stared around wildly, confused.

"Wh-where'd he go?"

Marinette winced as she succeeded in sitting up without using her arms. "That's his power; he can transport wherever he wants to, hence why his names Transporter," she murmured.

When Chat Noir realized that the villain wasn't near them anymore, he hurried over to Marinette and kneeled next to her. He grabbed her arms to help her up, but stopped when she yelped and pulled them back in obvious pain.

"Ouch! Dammit, Chat," she gasped. Chat frowned as he inspected the large bruises spread over the skin.

"What happened? Did he hurt you badly? Are you okay?"

Marinette tensed when he laid his gloved hand on her shoulder. She glanced at his sparkling green eyes, and realized that he was truly concerned for her. This was one of the only times she ever saw him be extremely serious, and it made her blush.

"I-I'm fine. He pinched my arms really badly, though. But I'm okay, it's nothing."

Chat wrapped his arms around her waist and hoisted her onto her feet slowly. "Careful," he muttered. Marinette suddenly felt hot as she was pressed against him, as he lifted her off the ground and she stood facing him. She was unable to take her eyes off his face as he crossed his arms and stared back at her. "Did he say anything else to you?" Chat asked.

"I know why he wants revenge on me. I-I think it's my fault he got akumatized. I accused him of murder yesterday without actual proof. He said he wouldn't stop until he killed me and my-" Marinette suddenly gasped when she realized that the Transporter could be anywhere.

"Adrien! I think he may be hunting him down right now. He's my friend, and Transporter said he'd kill him too since he was with me. We need to go, Adrien could be-"

Chat went red as he cut her off from her frantic panic. "I, uh, am sure he's fine." Marinette looked in confusion as he turned from her gaze and seemed to go strangely quiet.

"You, um, you care about him?" he said.

Marinette raised her eyebrows.

"Well, yeah, he's my friend, why wouldn't I-" She jumped as a metro bus suddenly pulled up into the station, coming to a screeching hault. They watched in confusion as the bus's doors flung wide open.

Marinette's attention was suddenly drawn to Chat's ring on his finger as it beeped and a green pad disappeared. Chat Noir glanced at his ring before looking Marinette squarely in the eyes.

"Listen, get out of here and don't stop until you reach your house. If this guy can go anywhere he wants to, then you're not safe out in the open." Marinette blinked.

"What are you going to do?" she asked. A masculine yell interrupted them from the subway bus that had never left the station yet. The screams continued as Chat Noir grabbed his baton and began to swiftly head towards the driver's car.

He turned one last time to Marinette. "Go, Marinette!"

"Chat wait!"

Marinette grabbed his arm quickly as he began to turn away, going pink as he glanced at her. "I, uh, th-thanks for saving me earlier." He gave her one last nod before he ran into the driver's car of the subway.

 _Why do you have to be so awkward, Marinette?_ She thought, suddenly realizing she was needed as a superhero. A part of her didn't want to become Ladybug and then go meet Chat Noir, since she liked the way she felt for him as Marinette. Ladybug never felt any sort of attraction to him, but it was different as Marinette.

Marinette raced around the corner to the girls bathroom, her bruised forearms still aching. Kneeling on the concrete, she clicked her purse open and her red kwami flew out, looking at her wide eyed. "That was close, Marinette," Tikki said, floating upwards as Marinette stood up.

"I know, I'm really lucky to have Chat Noir as a partner," she replied dreamily. Marinette seemed to lose concentration as she gazed at the wall, where she knew Chat Noir was around the corner somewhere.

"Marinette! Time to transform," said the frantic voice of the kwami. Marinette nodded and turned back to Tikki.

"Right. Tikki, spots on!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter: 5

The bus had left the doors wide open, and it showed no intention of leaving the station. The driver's car was a small little space, but the door was open as Chat Noir stood in front of it. Transporter was inside, leaning over the fat driver in his seat, threatening him with his knife blade.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," Chat Noir snapped, twirling his baton into a fighting stance. His words startled the villain at first, but his green complexion spread into an evil grin at the sight of Chat standing there.

"Well, if you want to save this useless man's life, then I suggest you give me your ring. It's an easy bargain, really. Would a superhero like yourself really give up a life for a material object?" Transporter cooed mockingly. Chat growled angrily, splitting his staff into two separate pieces before chucking them both at Transporter. He deflected the first one with his knife, and ducked as the other one hit the subway tunnel out the bus window behind him. Both pieces of his weapon flew back to Chat Noir, who caught them and reassembled them back into one piece.

"Surely you can do better than that, Chat Noir. Or, just give me your miraculous."

Angrily, Chat jumped through the open doorway, smashing his staff into Transporter's side and sending him stumbling backwards. The villain fell over, sliding against the board with every control button. By accident, Transporter hit into a button on the control pad that closed all of the bus doors, because Chat found he was then trapped with the villain.

Transporter pounced over the shocked drivers lap and onto Chat Noir. The two staggered to the side, struggling to fight each other as they fell over and knocked into a silver lever. Chat managed to lift his silver rimmed boots up and dig them into Transporters stomach. He launched him in the air, sending him tumbling over to the stunned driver.

Chat suddenly felt a huge lurch as the bus began to move, obviously starting an auto drive. He rammed into the back wall of the bus car, his golden bell below his collarbone jingling. Chat rubbed his head and sat up, looking up at the silver lever they'd bumped into.

 _Oh, this is just great,_ he thought with sudden panic. The bus began to pick up more speed down the tracks, and Chat leaned against the wall for support, watching as the Transporter was thrown into the back door.

…

Ladybug raced around the corner from the girls bathroom, fully transformed into her red, skin tight bodysuit and eyemask. Her hair was a slightly darker shade of black than it had been only a few minutes before while she was Marinette.

Chat Noir was on the bus, and she was almost positive he was in the driver's car. She began to jog over to the front of the parked metro train, but she suddenly stopped.

The bus doors slammed shut all at once, just before it began to move out of the station. Ladybug, thinking quickly, ran up beside a car, chasing it before it disappeared behind the tunnel wall.

She snatched her yoyo off of her hip and swung it into a lightning speed circle. A pink force field formed from the yoyo, and she pounced at the closed car door. Just before she ran into the tiled wall, Ladybug smashed a wide hole in the automatic doors with her pink shield. She burst into the car compartment, somersaulting on the floor as she jumped through.

Ladybug stood up and watched as the black tunnel walls came flying past the windows on either side of the deserted car she was in. The circular hole she'd made in the door had been cut through clean. Ladybug walked to the end of the car and heaved open the heavy door that separated the bus cars. She was determined to find Chat Noir, but the thought of seeing him made her nervous.

Would she even feel an attraction to him the way Marinette did?

If she did as Ladybug, that would mess up her emotions and probably her current mission. This akuma was already tough enough having to protect her true identity with Chat Noir, without letting him know that she was practically protecting herself.

The last thing she needed for this mission was to be distracted by a boy.

Peering around at the new car, she realized she was all alone, just as she had been in the last compartment. _Where are all the people?_ Ladybug walked down the aisle, past the bus seats and metal support poles sticking from the ground to the ceiling. When she got to the end, she leaned on her tiptoes against the heavy door and peered into the next car.

Ladybug saw about four teens crowded by the door at the end, staring through their window at something of their interest. She pulled on the red handle and dashed down the car to meet the only people that seemed to be on the metro.

"Hey!"

The group jumped, spinning around to stare wildly at her.

"Ladybug!"

Ladybug gasped, suddenly realizing all of these teenagers were in her high school class. The tallest of the four, a buff, muscular, athletic boy, Kim, turned from the window and slowly walked towards Ladybug, gaping at her with an expression of shock on his face.

"Wow, it really is her...uh, hi," he said.

Ladybug raised her eyebrows and put up a waving hand.

"Um, hi? Kim, what are you all - I mean, do you mind telling me your names?" Ladybug gritted her teeth in embarrassment, horrible at hiding any sign of Marinette's knowledge of her classmates.

"I'm Kim," he said, leaning flirtatiously on a pole. "This is Alix, Nathaniel, and Mylene."

It was obvious to Ladybug that Kim was attempting to flirt with her. Ladybug looked behind him to make out each of her friends. Nathaniel was sitting in a chair, staring at Ladybug with a stunned face, hiding like he usually did behind his mop of red hair. Alix was sitting across from him, wearing her black cap over her pink pigtails like she always did. The short, chubby figure of Mylene was gripping a pole for support as the bus rolled along rather quickly along the tracks.

"Kim," Alix snapped, flashing him a dirty look, "Quit it, will ya? Ladybugs got a thing with Chat Noir already. Everyone knows that." Ladybug couldn't help gasping at her friend's words.

 _What?!_ Was that true?

"Whatever, Alix. She's way more hot than I thought she was," Kim whispered, and turned back to a stunned Ladybug, not realizing that he had failed at trying to keep his words quiet.

"Woah, let's get one thing straight, Chat Noir and I are not -" Ladybug suddenly paused. Her usual feelings for Chat were coming back, her annoyed feelings, and any trace of attraction she had felt for him as Marinette was now gone.

 _See? I'm getting distracted over him, just as I thought I would._

"Wait a minute, where is he?" Ladybug shifted past Kim, who seemed disappointed at her uninterest in him. "See what I mean?" Alix said simply, waving her hand at Ladybug.

Ladybug frowned, and looked to Mylene and Nathaniel. "Have any of you seen him? He's on this train, at least I think he is, and I have no idea where to find him," she said. Shyly, Nathaniel stood and pointed through the door window. "We weren't sure what was going on with the driver; there's some people in his car and it looks like they're fighting or something - we're not sure. The driver's car is just past this next one," he said.

Quickly, Ladybug pressed her face against the glass to stare intently through the next car's door, and saw a glimpse of gray and red stripes fly by the window. She turned to smile at her friend.

"Thanks Nath, that really- I mean, Nathaniel."

Ladybug laughed awkwardly as she saw him gasp. Kim cast him a mean glance, and Nathaniel frowned at him. "Actually, you can call me Nath, if you want," he said.

Ladybug paused as she pulled the door open. She knew he was crushing on Marinette, but she was unaware of his interest in Ladybug. That, or her Marinette side was starting to leak into her Ladybug personality, but she doubted it.

"Oh, uh, thanks, I guess," she said awkwardly, finishing her task of pulling the door fully open, then turned to look at the group. "You four need to stay here, and don't move. There's a dangerous villain loose at the station and he has the ability to transport anywhere he wants to, so stay put," she ordered. Mylene suddenly shrieked, cowering next to Alix on the bench.

"So, we're in danger?"

"Not if Chat Noir and I can find him. Luckily for you guys, he's only after two teens named Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste," Ladybug said, turning around to dash out the door. She was forced to stop again as she heard Nathaniel yell this time.

"Wait, Ladybug! _Marinette's_ in danger?" Nathaniel asked worriedly. She turned to him, giving him a warm smile and laying her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, she's not in danger right now. We'll protect her if the Transporter tried to attack her, trust me," Ladybug told him reassuringly. Kim had his arms crossed, leaning against the pole as he watched Nathaniel and Ladybugs interactions.

"If you find Chat Noir dead in the front car or something, you know who to call," he called to the superheroine.

Ladybug shook her head and sighed as she sprinted out of their car and down the next one. Hurriedly, she peered through the circular window and into the driver's area ahead. Just as she had feared, Transporter was waving his knife in the air, standing above a frightened Chat Noir. She had no love interest in Chat, but she still feared for him greatly as her partner. Ladybug swiftly pushed the door open, hopping in the car and spinning her yoyo in a defensive stance.

"Ah, look who's come to save the day, Chat Noir," Transporter snarled, twisting his handcuffs just in time to avoid Ladybugs fierce throw of her yoyo.

He vanished, leaving without a trace above Chat.

"Ugh, that dumbass," Ladybug muttered irritably, catching her yoyo and replacing it on her hip. Chat Noir pulled himself off the ground, smiling at Ladybug with the usual eagerness he portrayed before almost every mission.

Ladybugs grin faded; she could've sworn she had been in love with him before, but now, even if she was Ladybug instead of Marinette, there was nothing she felt for him anymore.

"Nice to see you again, m'lady."

Ladybug smirked and put her hands on her hips. "Hope you didn't miss me too badly, I just saw you last night, y'know." Chat had forgotten about the robbery. To him, he felt like he hadn't seen her in a week. He'd been too caught up in his sudden feelings for Marinette that he hadn't had time to focus on Ladybug.

Now that she was here, she was ten times more beautiful than the last time he'd seen her. The thought of her being Marinette seemed almost foreign to him now; it was hard for him to believe that Marinette would take any interest in him, then reject him again as an alter ego.

"Well, I guess one day's getting too long for me to go without seeing you,"Chat said, his feelings for Ladybug beginning to explode in his mind. Marinette and Ladybug both held equal amounts of his love, but they didn't _feel_ like the same person.

"Anyways, how'd you find your way into the metro?"

Ladybug suddenly realized there was no way anyone could have known where Chat Noir was, much less the villain, unless that person was Marinette.

"I, uh, I was already on the train. Then we stopped, and I read the news about the villain being on the loose, so I decided to check it out," she said quickly, rubbing the back of her neck. Ladybug went pale, hoping her story was believable enough to buy. The driver's car was so confined that Chat Noir was only inches from her body. It was the first time she'd noticed how close he was to her, and that she could practically feel his body heat radiating off of him.

Chat Noir narrowed his eyes in thought.

The only other way she could've possibly known to come on the bus was if she'd seen him come on. The only person who'd been there, and who had seen him specifically come on, was...Marinette.

"Any ideas what his next motives are?" Ladybug asked, knowing very well what his answer would be. She realized that being Marinette gave her information for the mission that Ladybug couldn't possibly know, unless she risked exposing who she was to Chat Noir.

"Well, last night he was accused of murder by two teens named Marinette Dupain-Cheng and...Adrien Agreste. Now he wants revenge on them, and to retrieve our miraculous, I'm guessing," Chat replied. Ladybug nodded, pretending as if she didn't already know that. Chat lowered his face close to hers in obvious suspicion.

"Aren't you going to ask _how_ I know that, m'lady?"

Ladybug held her breath as his nose was practically touching hers, intimidated by his glowing green eyes and intensely handsome face. This had to be the last thing she needed at the moment, and she pushed him away with her finger against the tip of his nose, scowling.

"Chat, that's not helping. I don't _need_ to know where you got that from, all I _need_ to know is where his akuma is."

Chat finished rubbing his nose, noticing Ladybugs strange behavior. "I'm pretty sure they're in his handcuffs, since whenever he twists them he transports somewhere else."

Ladybug remembered when the Transporter had been behind the lockdown bars at the subway station, and the way he had fiddled with his strange purple handcuffs right before he had suddenly appeared inside the station.

"Right, of course. Nice work, partner."

Ladybug flashed him a smile and laid a hand on his armored shoulder as she walked away, towards the now unconscious driver. That small sign of affection caused them to both turn red, and Ladybug was confused as to why she felt shy and awkward when all she did was touch him.

She knelt beside the large driver, who was out cold with glistening sweat all over his skin. He was slumped in the driving chair, his head hanging down on his chest and squishing his bushy beard.

Ladybug checked his pulse and noted some minor knife slashes from the Transporter. "He'll be fine, but we better get him somewhere else so we can take over the bus controls; there are at least four other people in the second car, the rest of the train is deserted. We can take him to them."

Chat Noir had shifted slightly closer to Ladybug and the driver. He gazed at her like he usually did, admiring her control over the situation. They'd barely even had to face Transporter yet together, and she was already distracting him from the mission.

Her grace as she checked the unconscious man's pulse, her confident attitude and serious approach on everything, the way her hair fell around her face, how her pretty blue eyes shone with spirit, and her overall beauty. Ladybug stood up and turned around to face him.

"Come on, help me pull him."

The man had to weigh more than Ladybug and Chat Noir combined, but with their superhuman strength lifting him off the chair and setting him on the floor was no problem. The partners each grabbed one of his legs and began to heave him out of the front of the bus and down the aisle of the next empty car.

"Well, this is a drag," Chat grunted, finding it hard to pull the man while being too close next to Ladybug. She blew her bangs out of her eyes and groaned in annoyance at Chat Noir.

"What do you think Transporters next move is?" she asked, reminding herself not to be distracted by her conflicting feelings. "I mean, we don't exactly know for sure that he's off the train."

"We do know he wants revenge as his main goal, so - wait a minute…" Chat began slowly. Ladybug and Chat Noir both seemed to be plunged into deep thought when they both considered that piece of information.

"Holy shit, Chat! This isn't good - Adrien hasn't been warned yet about the Transporter, and he's probably being hunted by him without realizing it. We _need_ to get off this bus and find Adrien before that son of a bitch does."

Chat went hot pink, looking at Ladybug's worried face. She was so concerned for Adrien, without realizing she was looking right at him. Chat knew there was no way Transporter could possibly harm Adrien at the moment, but it was a different situation for Marinette.

He'd told Ladybug that Adrien _and_ Marinette were in danger, right?

Then how come Ladybug showed no concern or interest in protecting Marinette?

The only way was if Ladybug was certain Marinette was perfectly safe and couldn't be harmed...kind of like Chat's situation with Adrien.

Was it coincidental, or could it really be that Marinette was Ladybug?

"Damn, you're right. I told Marinette to run to her house while I dealt with Transporter on the bus, so she could be in danger now," he said. Chat looked at Ladybug, trying to imagine her as Marinette. The possibility seemed so small and weird to him, but it was only recently that he'd seen traits of Ladybug in her, which was what attracted him to Marinette in the first place. Maybe if he'd seen her more like that as Adrien, then he'd consider believing they were the same person.

He watched Ladybug go a suspicious color of red. "Uh, right, Marinette. Well, I guess I just assumed Transporter would look for Adrien if he never looked for him before," she said. Ladybug hadn't realized how obvious she'd made herself. Her concern for Adrien grew as she knew it would take time to get off the bus and track him down, especially since her feelings for Adrien were great.

"You - you seem to care about Adrien a lot," Chat inquired.

Ladybug suddenly wondered if telling Chat Noir about her love for Adrien would confirm even further to herself that she felt nothing for Chat Noir.

"Well, yeah - I like him a lot."

Knowing that as Ladybug she'd practically let any imaginary feelings for Chat Noir go, her already obsessive love for Adrien suddenly grew higher. She found herself distracted by the thought of him; of his gorgeous green eyes and glowing blond hair that always caught her attention during class, his amazing sense of style and the good smelling clothes he wore.

Chat Noir couldn't compare to that, could he? Adrien was everything Ladybug wanted, especially now more than ever. She looked over at Chat Noir, and noticed his wild blond hair.

Well, maybe it was the same color, but Adrien's hair was much more well kept than Chat's.

Ladybug looked at his eyes, and suddenly became disappointed. His eyes were the exact same green as Adrien's, but Chat had a black eye mask that took away from the effect that Adrien had.

Ladybug suddenly realized Chat _did_ have a lot in common with Adrien, even their height and body figure. Chats figure was way more prominent since he wore a skin tight bodysuit, but it was the same general shape as Adrien's.

The door to the second car compartment was already open, and Ladybug assumed that the teens had been staring at the superheroes as they dragged the fat guy along the floor. "We're going to need you guys to keep an eye on him," Ladybug breathed, helping Chat Noir heave the body up onto a bus seat. The kids around them made room for the struggling duo, who finally managed to lay the fat man sideways.

"Chat Noir and I will figure out how to stop the bus," Ladybug said, and turned to face the small group, smacking her hands together as if she'd just handled dirt.

"You know, Ladybug, I may know a thing or two about 'stopping buses', so if you need extra help, you know who to call," said Kim, his arms crossed as he leaned against a support pole.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll be just fine on our own," said Chat coldly.

Chat Noir's obvious jealousy had been activated by his natural instincts, and he swung an arm around Ladybugs shoulders.

"Besides, Ladybug and I always take every opportunity we get to be, y'know, _alone._ "

Kim rolled his eyes and glared angrily at Chat Noir.

"Yeah, um, let's focus on the situation at hand, please? I don't have time to deal with you assholes, thanks," said Ladybug, shooting a look at Chat Noir as she pushed his arm off her shoulders. "I think we all know who the real asshole is," Kim mumbled.

"You can't talk about a superhero like that, Kim!" Nathaniel scowled, shaking his head along with an annoyed Alix and Mylene.

A sudden beeping noise broke the strange tension, and Chat Noir glanced at his ring. "Shit," he muttered, realizing he had one more green pad left. "I'm going to change back soon." Ladybug cast him a worried look, knowing that they were in a desperate hurry to stop the bus and find the Transporter. "Go and hurry up; I'll try to keep everyone here in check," she said.

Chat nodded and dashed down the car, disappearing into the next empty compartment. "I'll be right back!" He shouted behind his back.

"Are you guys sure you're the only ones on the bus?" Ladybug crossed her arms, turning to the small group. "I mean, I think so - everyone got off at the same time for some reason; I'm guessing because of the villain, but we didn't know about that whole thing yet," Mylene said nervously, hugging her knees close to her body on the bus chair.

"Well, as of right now, we have no clue where that villain is, so we could be needed anywhere," Ladybug said bluntly.

"Pardon me if this is off topic, but just to kinda clear up the situation, are the rumors true that you and Chat Noir are dating?" Kim had perked up again, especially now that Chat Noir was gone. Ladybug sighed, by now used to hearing gossip about the famous superheroes romance at school, even by her best friend Alya, who always updated the Lady Blog with new rumors.

"Kim, we all know you think you're a ladykiller, but why do you care? Don't you have an undying crush on Chloe?" Ladybug's eyes suddenly grew wide when she realized her mistake. She froze and stared at the shocked expressions from her friends.

"How would you know that?" Nathaniel asked, stunned.

"Are you - are you from our class?" Alix asked, suddenly filled with interest and pride at her observation. Ladybug blinked.

"I, uh, no, I'm not in your class, but I _might_ come from your school. Besides, Kim was akumatized on _Valentine's Day,_ remember?"

Kim's face went red with embarrassment as his friends snickered at the memory. Ladybug sighed with relief. She'd been dropping some major hints to her identity today, and she had the feeling she knew who might be the one to sniff out who she was.

…

Chat Noir shut his eyes as a bright green flash ran up his body, and a swirling black object flew out of his ring. He'd gone at least three cars back from the one that held his classmates. Adrien reached into his pocket unwillingly, pulling out a piece of camembert.

"Cheese," Plagg mumbled faintly, resting on the palm of Adrien's hand. "Give me cheese, boy, or you'll never see Chat Noir again." Adrien rolled his eyes and put the piece by the kwamis body. "Quit exaggerating and eat, Plagg. We need to hurry and help Ladybug."

Adrien suddenly perked up when he heard a bang from the door at the end of the car. "Plagg," he said quietly, his eyes trained on the door. "Hide."

Adrien tried to ignore his kwamis munching as Plagg flew into the pocket of his sweatshirt. The door at the other end was suddenly pushed open swiftly, and what Adrien saw made him lost for words.

The Transporter stood in the doorway, obviously angry and a bit disheveled. He gritted his teeth as he peered around the new car compartment, stopping when his gaze rested upon Adrien. Pressing his back harder against the car door, Adrien realized this had to be the worst time to be caught. If Transporter really _was_ after him, then Adrien would be helpless.

He'd been completely caught out of costume, and now neither Chat Noir or Ladybug could save him.

A mischievous grin spread over the villain's face as he started walking down the aisle, recognizing him as the boy he was tracking down. Adrien had seen what he'd almost done to Marinette; this was not good.

"Well, hello, Adrien Agreste," said the green skinned boy. "I don't think we've met, exactly. Oh wait, yes we have."

Adrien was defenseless against the powerful villain without his powers, and he gaped in shock as the sharp dagger from Transporter's chain belt flew at him. It nailed the sleeve of his sweatshirt to the door behind him, causing Adrien to be stuck in an awkward position.

"Let me jog your memory. Remember when you were on the roof of that fancy shmancy hotel with that girl, Marinette? Who knows why the hell you two were going up there together, but it was late at night and you accidentally ran into me, remember? The boy who was trying to save his best friend from drowning? Yeah, that's me. But a stronger, better version of him. I'm going to kill you, and then I'm going to kill the girl, whom I had my hands on earlier, by the way, until that son of a bitch Chat Noir came to her rescue."

Adrien became angry as Transporter came up to his face, slamming his striped hand next to Adrien's head against the door. "Yeah, I've heard all about you," Adrien growled, "And don't even _think_ about touching Marinette when you're through with me."

Transporter snickered.

"That's the thing about revenge, isn't it? You see, Marinette's going to get it just as much as you are, no matter what you say. I'm just really lucky I happened to run into you at such an odd place."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter: 6

Gritting his teeth, Adrien stared hard at Transporter's dull gray eyes. He was in a tight spot, but Chat Noir had been in much worse situations. Examining his options, Adrien devised a small plan of attack.

"Well, _Transporter,_ you won't be getting near Marinette any time soon with Ladybug and Chat Noir to stop you," Adrien said, pressing his head harder back against the door as he felt Transporter's breath against his nose.

"They aren't a problem. All I need is to take their miraculous, but you and the girl will be dead long before that happens," the supervillain snapped.

"Don't you get it?" Adrien said, stalling for the sake of time."Hawkmoth is only using you to get their miraculous, that's why he gave you those damn powers in the first place. You really think he gives a shit about your revenge? Then what happens after you kill us? You'll be satisfied for the rest of your life? Hawkmoth will remove your powers after he gets what he wants."

Transporter's mad frown began to fade. Adrien's words seemed to sink into his brain as he thought it over. A purple butterfly mask suddenly appeared in front of his green face, indicating that Hawkmoth was talking to him. Transporters face furrowed back into an angry frown when the mask disappeared.

He stepped away from Adrien and grabbed the collar of his sweatshirt, angrily pulling him forwards.

"Shut the _hell_ up! You don't have a single clue what you're talking about, _I'm_ the boss here!" Transporter spat, enraged as he slammed Adrien back against the door.

Before the villain could step any closer to him, Adrien quickly brought his leg up and kicked him in the stomach above his chain belt. As Transporter flew backwards from the hard kick, Adrien quickly pulled the knife out of the door, freeing his trapped arm.

Transporter stumbled on the ground, clutching his stomach and groaning with pain. Looking up, he saw Adrien heaving the car door open and making ready to leave.

Snarling, Transporter leapt up and pounced at Adrien. "Give me that knife!" he shouted. Adrien was knocked against the door before he could make his escape, holding the dagger high to avoid the Transporters hands.

Grunting, Adrien tossed the dagger across the compartment and quickly slipped through the door, watching as Transporter ran away from him and towards his precious knife.

Adrien knew he needed to hurry, and quickly, if he wanted to transform before the Transporter could find him again. Luckily, he'd left every door open throughout the cars so that his escape was swift.

He could only hope at this point that Transporter hadn't watched him leave and knew where to track him down. After all, he had only gone one way through the door. How many places really were there on a metro bus anyways?

He came to a stop in the car that Ladybug had jumped through, having left a wide hole in the bus doors from her yoyo shield.

Adrien looked carefully at the ripped hole the knife had made in his sweatshirt and frowned. Plagg flew from out of his pocket, appearing to have gulped the last bit of cheese.

"What do you make of _that_?" he asked.

Adrien raised an eyebrow at the floating kwami, then turned to face the wide hole he'd never noticed before. He wouldn't be able to mistake that; Ladybug had jumped through the car from the station, using her yoyo to bust a wide hole.

"Plagg -" Adrien began to think more about Ladybugs story, how she'd said she'd been on the train already when she transformed…

"This means she - she had totally _lied_ to me earlier."

Adrien gaped at the hole, his mouth hung open. Obviously, she was hiding something; or maybe protecting her identity. The theory of Marinette being Ladybug came back to him as he put the pieces together; Ladybug had known to go help him on the train because she was Marinette, there with him, then she transformed right before the bus had started to move and she hopped on.

It made sense, but there were other possibilities of Ladybug getting on the train without being Marinette.

"Hello? Earth to Adrien? Are you going to transform and get it over with? I'm sick of being tossed around in your pocket all the time as you wrestle around with psychos," Plagg complained, folding his arms and flying in front of Adrien's green eyes.

Shaking his head, Adrien quit allowing himself to get distracted, making a mental note to approach Ladybug later about her lie.

"What? Oh, right. Plagg, claws out!"

…

"Who said I didn't win that bet?"

"Um, everyone who had been there, maybe? The whole class? Duh!"

"You guys are being ridiculous, that race didn't even count!"

"Stay out of this, Mylene!"

"Nath, this has nothing to do with you either…"

Ladybug sat across from the four teens, next to the passed out driver on the bus chair. She was slumped forward, her chin resting in the palm of her hand, listening in torture to the pointless arguing of her friends.

Sometimes, everyone in her class were close to one another, making it a friendly environment in the classroom, but she noticed that fighting and arguing seemed to be a constant trend; and sometimes, the last thing she could do was handle it.

Alix leaned closer to Kim's face, gritting her teeth in rage. "I'll race you again, you trashbag, if you really think I'm not capable."

Nathaniel and Mylene were shaking their heads, giving each other annoyed shrugs. "Alix, there's obviously no point if -" Kim began, finding himself suddenly cut off.

The fighting was put on hold as the car suddenly went black. The brightly illuminated lights above were all out, putting the whole bus in sudden darkness. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what just happened?" Mylene squealed in fright, seeming to almost go into a full panic. "Mylene, relax," Alix whispered, glancing around the room in question.

Ladybug stood up, peering at the light bulbs above them. "That's odd - it looks like the power went out or something."

"But we're still moving," said Nathaniel worriedly.

Ladybug snatched her yoyo from her hip. "I've got a bad feeling about this; you four stay low and stay quiet. Keep checking up on the driver, I'm not sure how long he'll be out for. You may not be the Transporters targets, but that doesn't mean he won't hurt you to get to Chat Noir and me. I'll be back."

Ladybug was almost relieved to leave the perplexed group and their fighting by themselves. She disappeared past the half open doorway into the next car, looking around and moving slowly. The compartment was truly dark, and it took time for her eyes to adjust.

Ladybug could soon make out the dim outlines of poles and seats throughout the black car. She paused when she heard a rustling sound, muffled from behind the next car door. The door was pulled only halfway, since she'd passed through it on her way up towards the driver's car. Ladybug moved stealthily through the dark, clutching her yoyo tightly in her fingers, silent as she passed next to the bus seats. She continued to hear the scuffling noise from behind the door, the sound growing louder as she approached. Ladybug prepared her yoyo for an ambush, hiding behind the door and ducking under the circular window.

Taking a deep breath, Ladybug leapt through the slit of the doorway, spinning her yoyo in an attack-like manner. When she rounded the corner of the door, she was stunned to find not the glowing red hair of the Transporter but of a person wearing pure black attire, who seemed to have been standing right behind the door.

Ladybug's head rammed into Chat Noir's chest, her yoyo inches away from whacking him in the face.

"Woah!" Chat whispered as his head dodged her yoyo, his hands grabbing Ladybugs arms to steady her.

"Chat Noir!"

Startled, Ladybug looked up into his dazzling green eyes, which were the only things purely visible in the dark. Her eyes had adjusted to her surroundings quickly, and she made out his shaggy blonde hair and the points of his cat ears on the top of his head.

Chat grinned down at her stunned expression, exposing the whites of his straight teeth. Her dark bangs flopped in her face, her black hair blending into the darkness.

"Dammit, Chat, I thought you were Transporter. I can barely see you with that black catsuit." Ladybug didn't even try this time to avoid the hypnotizing gaze of his handsome face. "S-Sorry, I can't see that well in the dark," she added.

"You're lucky this cat's got night vision," Chat smirked, letting go of his hold on her arms.

"I don't like this sudden blackout, we should probably check the rest of the bus for the Transporter," Ladybug said in a quiet whisper.

Chats smile faded, realizing that if Transporter found them, the villain would threaten them to hand over Adrien. The only possible way Adrien could have been on the bus was if he was Chat's secret identity, detransforming because his ring was on the last pad.

"You're right. Let's go," he said unsteadily. The duo didn't waste time as they turned around and made their way stealthily through the car, walking down the narrow aisle.

Ladybug was so dangerous in the dark; her serious attitude and stealth made her almost deadly. Her fit and skinny frame was illuminated by her glowing red suit, and the way her black hair absorbed the color of the dark made her more desirable than she already was.

The way she moved and furrowed her brow made her so... _irresistible_.

Chat made himself look away from her before he lost his balance and tripped in the dark. They'd been moving along the aisle, almost crouched low on the ground as they maneuvered quickly.

"You guys are complete fools, aren't you?"

The cold, teenage voice rang out through the darkness, followed by a menacing laugh. The superheroes stopped dead when they heard it. Ladybug motioned her hand towards the door ahead of them, waiting for Chat Noir's nod of approval. When she was able to make out his consent through the black atmosphere, the duo stood in their ready positions, facing the door and planning to jump in on three.

They moved swiftly when they jumped through the open doorway into the next bus compartment. The partners gritted their teeth as they ran into the open car, slacking off their attack formations when the Transporter was nowhere in sight.

"Shit, where is he?" Ladybug mused, angrily whipping her head around to look through the dark room.

"I'm not leaving this train until I get what I want," came the voice, distinctly recognized by them as the Transporter. His new power wouldn't allow them to be able to spot him at any certain location in the car, so the superheroes stood back to back, pulling out their weapons as they began to turn around in a circle.

Ladybug began to spin her yoyo, creating her pink shield as she kept walking in a circle with Chat Noir. "Our miraculous? Good luck with that one, Transporter," Ladybug shouted, anticipating his ambush. Chat Noir spun his baton in his fingers, creating his own silver forcefield.

"That's only one thing I want. Adrien Agreste is on this train, and I want you to give him to me or I'll attack that group of useless kids."

Chat Noir tensed when he heard his name. With Ladybug knowing this information, there was no way she wouldn't get suspicious when she realized that Adrien was nowhere to be found.

"Adrien? On the train? The only people on the bus is that 'useless group of kids'," Ladybug said, suddenly very confused.

"He escaped when I cornered him, but he was there. I was that close to getting my revenge." Every time the Transporter talked, his voice echoed from a different direction throughout the car compartment.

"You're delusional. And even if he was here, we would never give him up to you," Ladybug snapped.

"Have it your way, Ladybug. You and your partner have something I want while I still waste my time on this bus, so that takes care of that." The voice was silent again, his words hanging gloomingly in the pitch black.

Ladybug thought she'd heard his shuffling from among the seats nearby her and her partner in the car. As she came around in their circle to face the far door, turning around opposite to Chat Noir, she caught a glimpse of red stripes lunging in the air at her in the dark.

Ladybug found herself being knocked over, ramming into a hard bus seat sideways as she let go of her weapon. She grunted as the wind was knocked out of her chest, receiving a hard kick of the villain's foot on her shin. The only way she could see Transporter was by his mop of bright red hair, which hovered above her slumped body.

"Ladybug!" Chat shouted in the background.

Ladybug noticed a quick reflection of the long, shiny knife blade about to be brought down upon her. In panic, she kicked out at where the body for the hair might be, delighted when her foot kicked something solid and she heard a low groan.

Ladybug quickly dove away from the chair, rolling on the floor and standing up with haste, snatching her yoyo from its fallen spot on the ground. She watched as the glinting knife came at her, held by the almost invisible Transporter. Ladybug ducked as the knife swiped at her head, and she kicked her leg out below his body, smashing into his legs. As Transporter fell to the ground, Ladybug stood upright and pounced at the villain lying on his back. His feet dug into her stomach and he flung her away from him, regaining himself and standing.

Ladybug yelled as she flew through the air, slamming hard on the ground. He ran at her swiftly, a purple mask appearing in front of his face and slightly illuminating his green skin. Ladybug shook her head, dazed by the fall.

Transporter snickered as he kneeled beside her body, pushing her shoulder over to lay her flat on her back. Ladybug wriggled, defenseless on the ground as she felt his hands brush past her hair and reach behind her ear, no doubt trying to take her earring off.

His purple moth mask disappeared, and Ladybug was no longer able to see him again. The scene went by too quickly for her to react, when suddenly a shiny metal baton extended from behind the villain and smacked him right in the face. As Transporter doubled back, crashing into bus seats as he clutched his face, Ladybug was pulled up from the ground by her arms to stand up next to Chat Noir.

Ladybug muttered a quick thanks to her partner before they made their defensive stances. Transporter stood facing them, preparing his sharp knife clutched tight in his hand. Without warning, the dagger was hurled across the car, headed straight for Chats head.

Ladybug jumped in front of him, spinning her yoyo and deflecting the metal with her shield. Chat Noir charged at the Transporter, spinning his baton angrily and getting ready to strike. Transporter grabbed the stick as it was swung hard towards his head, flipping over it and landing safely on the other side as the baton swung away. Chat Noir gritted his teeth as Transporter brought his fist around to punch him. He avoided it with a simple move of his head and kicked the villain hard in the stomach, sending him on his knees along the floor.

The Transporter slid backwards across the ground, away from the teen heroes. He glanced up in the dark when yoyo string suddenly latched around his wrist.

Ladybug and Chat Noir bolted towards him together, Ladybug ready to pull him towards them. As she yanked hard on her string and as Chat Noir leapt in the air with his baton ready, the villain messed with his handcuffs and vanished. The startled duo gasped in puzzlement, Ladybug stumbling forward when she pulled roughly onto nothing.

"Where the hell did he go?" Chat shouted angrily, looking around wildly.

They both spun on their heel when they heard a cold snicker from directly behind them. The duo had barely just caught a glimpse of his red hair when Transporter seized Chats arm and flipped him over his head, throwing him out of the car.

Ladybug gaped when she realized they were in the car that she had punctured a large hole in, in order to make it onto the metro bus. Her partner was flung out of the wide, circular hole, following him closely when her stunned thoughts distracted her from fighting back against the villain.

Transporter collided himself with Ladybugs body, tossing her out of the hole as well. Ladybug threw her yoyo back into the bus as she slammed against the tunnel wall, watching as her weapon wrapped around a support pole by a bus seat. She grasped the string tightly as she fell back, flying past the quickly moving bus in the air. Chat Noir caught onto her foot as he fell behind her.

They were suspended in the air as the wind rushed at full speed past them, moving at the same speed of the bus. Ladybug winced and blinked her eyes as she lifted her head up, squinting in the light of the tunnel. Her black hair flew behind her, exposing her forehead as her bangs were whipped back by the wind. She peered ahead to see Transporter stick his head out of the hole to look at them.

"I'm going to find Adrien, Ladybug," he shouted over the constant noise of the metro. "You won't stop me! I'll also stop by those pesky teens on my way as well! You two have fun _hanging_ around!"

His evil laughter was drained out when he vanished back into the car. Ladybug was scared of this awkward situation, the speed of the bus much more faster than what she'd hoped for. The wind and the bus squeaking against the tracks was loud and she could barely hear anything. Even though Chat was dangling onto her leg, his weight was of no effect as they were practically levitated by the strong wind.

"Chat!" Ladybug shouted, trying to turn her head backwards to look at him.

"What?" She heard him yell. His voice was faint, but she could somewhat make out his response. "What are we going to do now?" he yelled again.

"You're going to have to climb up into the bus!" she shouted, her eyes being forced to shut as the wind stung against her face.

"What did you say, Ladybug?" Chat yelled, barely able to lift his head as the wind beat on his eyes. Ladybug sighed, realizing she'd have to rephrase herself in order for him to properly understand her idea.

"YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CLIMB ME TO GET BACK INTO THE BUS!" she screamed, hoping what she said hadn't come out sounding too wrong.

Chat's face distorted into a look of puzzlement at her words before realizing what the actual meaning behind her idea had been. "GOT IT!" he screamed back at her, an uncontrollable grin spreading across his face.

Chat Noir struggled at first, the task proving to be harder than it looked. He pulled on her leg, heaving himself forward and trying not to let go as the wind pushed past him. He grabbed her knee, continuing to climb awkwardly up her body.

Ladybug felt his hands wrap around her waist as he pulled himself farther along. Soon, he was lying on top of her, both of them gritting their teeth against the wind and the pain in their eyes. Chat pulled gently on her shoulders until his face was lined up with her ear.

"What's the rest of your plan, m'lady?" he said, knowing that she was able to hear him much better with his face behind hers. "Now climb the rope," she yelled back. "And then pull me up."

Chat Noir obliged, using a hand to reach past her face and grasp the yoyo string. Ladybug struggled to hold onto the rope as Chat began to heave himself along the string, his stomach and legs hitting into her head lightly as his body passed ahead of her.

Ladybug saw his silver boot finally disappear back inside the dark car compartment when he finished his climb across the yoyo. He stumbled inside, slightly dazed as he peered back out the hole at Ladybug. She felt relief flood through her rushing blood when he pulled her by her yoyo string back inside the bus. She shifted upwards, inch by inch, until finally she reached out her one hand for Chat Noir to take when she got close enough.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her up slowly with effort. Ladybug felt her upper body enter the bus as Chat hugged his arms around her back to heave the rest of her body back inside. Finally, her legs dragged back into the bus, with Chat Noir still attached around her waist. Unable to properly place her feet firmly on the ground, a winded Ladybug tripped forwards as Chat Noir suddenly fell backwards.

They fell on the ground of the bus, dazed from the fast speed of the bus and the wind. Ladybugs head was still spinning from the intense action outside the bus as she laid sideways, her arms unintentionally around Chats shoulders. Her yoyo unravelled from around the support pole and flew swiftly back to her fingers. Chat Noir was still hugging Ladybug close to him from their prior position of trying to pull her back inside the car.

"Are you okay?" he asked, smiling as she panted from the excited bustling. Ladybug trained her eyes on his face above her, still trying to adjust and recover from that horrific experience. "Fine," she breathed. It only took her a few more moments to relax and become accustomed to the dark again, and to realize her current position on the ground with Chat Noir.

Ladybug let his shoulders go and scooted away, blushing a hot pink under her mask. They both stood up, facing each other without saying anything. Ladybug cleared her throat and avoided his burning stare, reminding herself to not get distracted over nothing. "We, uh, should go after him," she said, replacing her yoyo around her hips.

"Um, right. Where would he go on the bus?" Chat asked.

"He said he'd terrorize the group, so we need to go check on them and see if he was telling the truth," she said. Ladybug dashed away down the car and passed through the next door, followed closely behind by Chat Noir.

…

The second car of the bus was still in complete darkness, and the passengers were quite terrified. They had kept their talk quiet, huddled around in a circle on the floor. Kim and Alix seemed to be the only ones who had taken the situation with a casual approach. Mylene, known at school for being frightened by mostly everything, was curled in a ball next to Alix and Nathaniel, shivering as she hugged her knees close to her body. Nathaniel sat cross-legged, hunched over and eyeing the darkness as if it would disappear at any second.

"Well, this is not how I planned this evening to go," said Alix, sighing as she leaned back on her hands.

"Hey, I think it's pretty cool that we just got the opportunity to personally meet two extremely famous people," Kim said, running a hair with pride through his hair. "Well, I had the pleasure of meeting one of them, at least."

Nathaniel frowned at him, shaking his head from behind his wave of bangs. "Kim, what was that all about? You hitting on Ladybug? You do know she's a _respectable_ superhero, right?"

Kim shot him a dirty look and shrugged.

"So what? Doesn't mean I have a crush on her. You heard what she said, I have a crush on Chloe. I just thought she was hot, that's all."

Nathaniel scowled, realizing Kim was trying to avoid the fact that there had been tension between them when Ladybug had been there. "Good. Anyways, I believe the rumors are true that Chat Noir and Ladybug are together," Nathaniel said.

Everyone looked in surprise when Kim laughed. "What's it to you anyway, Nath? Don't you have some undying love for Marinette or something?" he asked.

Nathaniel's eyes grew wide as his cheeks flushed red. "Kim, shut up!"

"What? I didn't know about this," Mylene said, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Me neither," Alix said coldly, glaring at Nathaniel.

"Well, I don't know, I mean -" Nathaniel stuttered, his blue eyes being shielded by his red bangs.

"I'll save you the trouble, Nath," Kim said with a wink. "New subject: why Chat Noir is an idiot."

Alix and Mylene sighed with annoyance while Nathaniel sighed with relief. "Seriously, Kim?" Alix said. "He's not that bad. Every girl in school thinks he's cute. He's usually the main subject at our lockers when we've got nothing else to talk about."

Kim rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. No one even knows who the guy really is. Can't girls focus on better looking guys, like me?" Mylene and Alix shared the same smirk.

"Maybe if you _were_ better looking," Mylene remarked.

"He saves the day, so what? You're probably all interested in him because he wears tight spandex, anyway," Kim growled.

Alix laughed when she saw Kim's jealous and angry expression. "You know, I've heard guys before saying the same stuff about Ladybug, so it's really no different when girls talk about Chat Noir," Alix said matter-of-factly.

Kim looked in embarrassment at the surrounding group, watching them all snicker at his overreaction. "Well, Ladybug actually acts like a superhero, unlike Chat Noir, who's probably just her sidekick in the first place. Plus, she's super hot and sexy in that ladybug suit. It's true; most guys at school think that about her." It was Alix and Mylene's turn to roll their eyes.

"Chat Noir isn't Ladybug's sidekick, Kim," Mylene said. "Ladybug gave a whole speech about their equal partnership and teamwork in front of TV reporters once. I thought that was really sweet what she did for him."

Before Alix had the chance to agree with her, a loud shuffling sound erupted through the car, causing them all to go dead silent. An evil voice rang out above them, piercing coldly through the still air.

"Listen to me carefully. I know that you four are close friends with a boy in your class named Adrien Agreste, so I know you are all aware of his presence on this subway. Now, all I -"

"Well, I mean, I know the dude...I wouldn't exactly say we're close friends -"

The group gave Kim a frightened and unapproving look, horrified and unsure of what might happen next.

"Shut up, you useless trash bag! I could care less of what you think of him, all I know is that you guys know where he is, otherwise he wouldn't have been on the train in the first place. So, in that case, I want you four to give him to me so that I can kill him or I'll just kill you all myself, and then wait here as bait for Ladybug and Chat Noir."

The voice didn't return, but the owner of it was no doubt around them. The four teens stared at one another in total shock, their mouths hung open.

Mylene shrieked in terror.

Kim gave them one last confused look. "We're screwed."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter: 7

"Look! Do you see him now?"

"It's kinda hard when he keeps transporting all over the car."

Ladybug and Chat Noir stood peering through the circular window at the darkened car ahead, watching the group of teens on the floor gape at each other, clueless to the Transporter's whereabouts in the compartment.

"Remind me again why we're not busting in and ambushing him?" Chat said, glancing at Ladybug in doubt.

"Because, Chat, didn't you hear what he said? He _wants_ us to go in...he'll probably hurt them when he sees us, and then _we'll_ be the ones being ambushed," Ladybug whispered.

Chat growled softly with impatience, itching to fight Transporter. He had never felt this much anger and hate towards a villain before. Sure, sometimes he had received a certain impulse to fight and take down an akuma with rage, like Copycat. But ever since he saw Transporter torturing Marinette at the metro station, an anger that he'd never felt before had began to emerge.

"But we've got an advantage. He'll never have expected us to come in at this point, not without, um, _Adrien._ " Chat Noir rubbed the back of his neck.

Ladybug sighed and turned away from the window, ducking below it. "That guy's insane if he thinks Adrien's on this train. Just trust me on this one, alright?" Ladybug started moving down the aisle, stopping when she reached the middle of the car.

"As usual, m'lady."

Chat followed her, watching her inspect the ceiling of the train above. Her hands were firmly positioned on her hips, and he was confused as to why she seemed to be taking an interest in the ceiling. "What's the plan now?"

"Now, we get to the driver's car and stop the bus. Transporter will never see it coming. That'll give us a _real_ advantage."

Ladybug grabbed her yoyo and started to spin it, creating the pink forcefield as she tossed it above her head, banging it against the ceiling and causing another large hole above them. The car grew louder with the outside noises of the subway tunnel seeping in through the hole. Chat looked from Ladybug to the damage in the bus she'd just made.

"Oh, hell no, don't tell me we're going on top of the bus?"

Ladybug flashed him a mischievous smile. "Don't worry, kitty, cats are good at this type of thing. Give me a boost, will ya?"

Chat shook his head in disapproval as he kneeled on the floor, cupping his hands for her feet. Ladybug stepped up onto his support, steadying herself upright when he stood up shakily. Her head popped up through the hole, wind from the fast moving bus suddenly gushing in her face. Squinting her eyes, Ladybug looked around at the black tunnel surrounding them, and realized they didn't have too much room to fit across the surface of the roof.

"Are you going up, LB?" Chat said, not allowing himself to speak too loudly in case Transporter heard him from the other car.

Ladybug held her breath as she pushed off of his hands and hoisted herself up onto the cold roof of the subway train. She eased herself down on her stomach, lying flat on the bus surface. Using her hands to slide herself across the roof, Ladybug reached her arms back into the hole below her.

Chat Noir jumped upwards, his arm outstretched above him. Ladybug grabbed his wrist and pulled him, allowing him to hoist himself onto the roof when he got a hold of the silver tin with his other hand.

Carefully balancing herself, Ladybug sat up in a crouch to turn herself around and lay flat on her stomach again. Chat mimicked her position and settled himself next to her, suddenly afraid of accidentally tipping over the side of the fast-moving bus. Lying on their stomachs, the superheroes squinted their eyes and pulled themselves along the slippery roof.

"Great plan," Chat Noir shouted sarcastically, resisting the temptation to look down and see the faraway tracks of the tunnel below them.

"Don't forget they might hear us when we pass over them, so try not to slam your hands against the roof too hard!" Ladybug yelled. "We've only got two more cars to go."

They kept their heads facing each other as to avoid the hard wind against their eyes. The loud metallic bus combined with the noise of the wind was filling their ears as they slid carefully over the roof. Worming their bodies on top of a fast moving subway bus was way harder than either of them had imagined it to be. Sometimes, Ladybug wondered if Marinette would come up with crazy and risk-filled ideas like this one.

After a few minutes of pulling themselves silently across the roof, Ladybug paused to slowly lift her head. Feeling a more intense rush of air when she looked ahead, Ladybug gritted her teeth and peered at the amount of roof they had left. Quickly turning her head back sideways, she looked over at Chat Noir's spot beside her to see that he'd continued on sliding unintentionally while she had taken a break. Her head was about level with his thigh as she started pulling herself up again.

"We're almost there!" She screamed, catching up with his waistline.

"Where are you, Ladybug?" Chat shouted in panic, unaware that she'd paused a while back. He stopped in his tracks, allowing her to catch up with him. Turning his head sideways, he uselessly blew locks of blond hair from his face in order to watch as a red hand entered his vision. Chat sighed with relief when he saw Ladybug pull up next to him.

"We need to hurry!" Ladybug yelled, sliding along again beside Chat Noir.

They were only slides away from reaching the edge of the roof when Ladybug saw her partner stumble sideways beside her. Assuming he'd slipped, she gasped when she saw a flash of a black blur begin to roll off the side of the bus. His yells were drowned out by the metallic rattling of the metro as Ladybug watched his arms flail over the edge.

"Chat Noir!" She screamed, spinning her body around to face the left tunnel wall, and started to pull herself close to the edge. He'd caught the ledge with his hand, but his feet were rising behind him the way they had before when the Transporter tossed them out of the train. Ladybug reached below and grabbed his wrist.

"Shit," she muttered, trying to balance her sideways body as her arms were stretched in front of her, pulling him halfway up.

 _This would be a hell lot easier if I had a hold on his tail_ , she thought, grunting as she tugged on his arms.

Ladybug sat up carefully in a crouch, balancing herself to make sure she wouldn't topple over against the speed. Chat Noir held onto her arms for support as the front part of his body emerged over the ledge, almost tugging her down with him. He swung his legs over the side with great effort, finally managing to heave his whole body over. Carefully, using Ladybug to steady himself, Chat rose into a crouch beside her.

"That was a close one," Ladybug yelled, panting and still shocked as she looked at his scrunched face. His entire forehead was exposed as the strong wind caused his blonde hair to flap backwards. The duo held onto one another's wrists in order to endure the high speed and wind from the train.

"Tell me about it," he shouted back at her. "We need to hurry! We've almost made it to the driver's car!"

The partners slowly released each other's wrists before dropping quickly on their stomachs. They continued the small amount of slides they had left until their noses were practically staring over the front of the bus. Ladybug found it easier to sit up on her knees being at the edge of the bus, and Chat followed her movement.

"I can use my cataclysm!" Chat yelled, looking up at Ladybug. Her face was streaked with black hair that whipped and flailed in the wind.

"Why waste your kwami's energy?" Ladybug shouted, smiling, and snatched her yoyo at her side.

"What?" Chat watched her take her yoyo in confusion.

"Nevermind!"

Ladybug began to spin her yoyo, struggling to get it to top speed against the rushing air. Chat flinched when he saw the pink forcefield only inches from his face.

"Come over to me!"

Chat Noir obeyed and scooted across the roof over to Ladybug and crouched beside her. With him out of the way, Ladybug proceeded to thrash at the roof, awkwardly slashing a corner of a circle through the roof with her weapon.

Ladybug peered over into the jagged hole she'd created that led down to the driver's car. She brought her yoyo back up to her finger and replaced it back on its normal spot. Chat Noir revealed his silver baton, extending it through their way down into the car. The staff reached the ground of the car below, and Ladybug hugged Chat Noir close to her.

Wrapping his arm around her waist, Chat jumped through the hole, holding Ladybug beside him. The partners slid down the long pole into the bus, relieved to be enclosed from the gushing wind and the loud noises of the metro tunnel. Their heart rates high with a mixture of fright, anxiety, and happiness, Chat Noir set Ladybug on the ground and shrunk his baton back to its normal size.

When Ladybug's feet touched solid ground, she let go of Chat and dashed hurriedly to the controls for the bus. Chat quickly followed her, putting his baton on his lower back.

"You ever learn how to drive a subway bus?" Ladybug frowned, turning to glance up at Chat Noir.

"Well, no, but I -"

Ladybugs eyes went wide when she saw his hair, jumbled around his head in knots and clumsy waves. Chat raised his eyebrows when he saw her break into a fit of giggles. Ladybug burst out with hard laughter, staring at the mess on his head.

"What are you laughing at?" Chat asked, confused.

"I'm...sorry…" she breathed through her laughing. "You just - you just look so stupid!"

Chat frowned and followed her gaze to his messy hair.

"I mean, seriously, your hair's already pretty bad without being blown senseless by wind." Ladybug put her hand on her hip and leaned with the other against the control pad, losing most of her seriousness from before.

"What a _hairy_ situation I'm in, right, Ladybug?" Chat smirked, waiting for her angry outburst. Her laughing suddenly ceased, her face returning her less joyful attitude. Ladybug scowled, trying her best not to let a grin flicker on the corner of her lips.

"How many times have you used that pun?" she asked, turning away from him and focusing on the control pad. Before Chat could respond, she added, "But thanks, I needed that. Time to focus."

Chat's own smile faded when he heard her say that remark.

"Sorry, m'lady. You know, it's not everyday I get to see you laugh. You're...pretty cute when you look happy." Chat leaned his hand against the control pad, facing a stunned Ladybug.

She looked up at him with her usual big blue eyes, silent as she watched his calm expression look back down at her. Of course, Chat knew she was always beautiful, even when she was mad, but he had been right. It wasn't every day he got to admire her joyful laugh.

The silence between them was interrupted when a beeping overcame the microphone radio. At first, the superheroes didn't notice it with the noisy wind and bus rattling rushing over them from the hole above, but Ladybug quickly snatched the walkie-talkie like radio when its noise filled her ears. Holding down the beeping red button, Ladybug spoke uncertainly into the speaker. "H-Hello?"

"Hello, this is the metro station manager. All trains were specifically asked to remain at a station while the areas were put on lockdown. Right now, we're getting on our radars that your bus is moving, and you're headed straight for the next station. The subway bus at the upcoming station H93 is parked, and you need to stop your bus immediately," barked a strict, deep voice. Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged horrified glances when they realized their situation.

"Well that explains a lot," Chat mumbled under his breath. Ladybug coughed and cleared her throat as she held the button down again.

"Sir, this is Ladybug and Chat Noir. The driver is currently passed out due to a...um, fight with the new villain. We're going to handle this situation but we'll need the police ready when we get to the next station. And, uh, do you mind - letting us know how to stop this thing?" She released the button as the same voice overtook the radio again.

"Ladybug! Of course, we'll take care of the police. And to stop the bus, you need to flip the silver knob next to the group of yellow buttons. Please hurry; this may not be enough to stop your metro." When the conversation ended, Ladybug frowned in concentration as her eyes roamed the board. Ladybugs eyes searched the control pad, finding a skinny silver switch by her hand. "Thanks," she breathed hastily into the walkie talkie, replacing the radio back in its spot.

"This is really bad," Chat Noir said, watching Ladybug grasp the handle. She pulled with all her might on the small stick, jerking it towards her.

Suddenly, without warning, the bus's speed began to decline, causing them all to lurch forwards at the sudden drop in speed. The metro train lid along the tracks, the pressure igniting small sparks that leapt behind the bus wheels. Chat Noir hit his back against the front glass, bouncing back on the ground. The horrid sound of squeaking filled their ears as the bus tried to skid to a stop. Ladybug slammed on the ground, grunting when her shoulder hit the hard floor. She stuck her fingers in her ears for only a few seconds to try and block out the horrid noise of squeaking.

"It's going too fast!" Ladybug shouted, rubbing her head on the ground. She stood up shakily from her fall, trying not to let her knees buckle as she peered intently out the window. "Wait a second - what is that?"

Chat Noir stood up swiftly, leaning over the control pad to stare out the glass pane. The lights were undeniable; far up ahead in the tunnel, they could just barely make out the back lights of another subway train and the illuminated lights of the surrounding metro station. The lights only grew increasingly closer as the train skidded unevenly across the tracks.

"Holy shit," Chat whispered, his words barely audible over the screeching bus trying to stop. "We're never going to make it."

Ladybug gritted her teeth and bolted back to the silver handle. She grabbed it again and pulled on it harder. "We _have_ to make it," she snapped, leaning as far back as she could. No matter how much force she applied to the brake, it barely made much of a difference as the bus rolled quickly towards the metro train ahead.

Chat Noir grabbed the knob over her hands and helped her pull on it, trying to make the bus come to a full stop. "Those lights are getting much more closer!" Chat shouted, grunting as the duo leaned farther back. Ladybug dared to peek through the window again, watching as the bus's tail lights grew increasingly closer to them by the second. "It's too hard to stand up straight," Ladybug complained, letting go of the handle and leaving Chat Noir to pull it by himself.

"Hey - what are you doing?" he shouted at her angrily. "Help me stop this thing!"

Ladybug was tossed around slightly as the bus continued to skid noisily along the tracks.

"No, that's not enough," she said, watching as the lights approached them, growing brighter and filling her up with more fear and stress. She couldn't let this happen; there had to be a way for her to stop the bus in time, but by just pulling the lever wasn't going to help any longer. "Ladybug, what're you -" Chat began, but paused when he saw her retrieve her yoyo.

"Lucky charm!"

Ladybug tossed her yoyo high above her head, watching as the usual red and black magic came swirling in the air above and absorbing her spinning yoyo. When the magical blur disappeared, Ladybug prepared to catch whatever her charm had in store for her. The object was tiny, but she caught it and identified it as an unusually long and sharp nail.

Great.

Just what she needed. A _nail_ to stop a screeching metro bus.

Rolling her eyes, Ladybug looked hurriedly around the room, her magical ladybug vision causing her eyesight to go black and white. By now, the lights ahead were flashing in her eyes, and her heart was racing with determination. Glancing around the small car, she noticed the handle above the door to her left beside Chat Noir light up with a ladybug pattern.

She grinned; finally, a clue.

Ladybug walked alongside the wall in order to steady herself from being thrown around by the out of control train. She passed Chat Noir, who hadn't given up on pulling the lever, and stood before the door, looking up at the handle. Ladybug peered downwards out of the door window at the tracks below, and spotted the bus's small tires, which also lighted up a ladybug pattern.

Grinning, Ladybug devised her plan as the magical ladybug vision disappeared. She threw her yoyo up at the handle, wrapping it around the metal bar. Making sure the hold on her yoyo string was tight, Ladybug then kicked the tough window pane out of the door, sending it flying backwards onto the tracks. The ear piercing screech of the bus filled her head with nausea when the glass window flew away.

"Dammit, Ladybug!" Chat shouted at her, still trying to pull on the lever. He grit his teeth as he turned to look at her with an angry glare. "You're going out of the bus again?"

"This is our last hope!"

Ladybug bit her teeth down on the long nail, holding the object within her mouth. Ladybug took a deep breath through the nose and hopped through the window square, levitating beside the bus with the strong wind. Scrunching her face and squinting her eyes, Ladybug lowered herself downwards using her yoyo string, coming dangerously close to the small wheels and train tracks. Just like before, her legs flew out behind her as she gripped her yoyo string tightly.

She snatched her tiny, sharp nail from in between her teeth and aimed for the tough tire. Exhaling, Ladybug pounded the sharp point of the nail into the tire, only able to stab at it once before her hand was deflected away by it's fast moving motion.

 _Wouldn't a knife be better for this type of thing?_ She thought, scowling.

The terrible screeching noise was high and obnoxious in her ears, causing her brain to ache. Blood pounded through her head as it throbbed with pain, forcing her to grit her teeth. A sudden gush of squeaky air came flying out of the small tire as it began to deflate.

Ladybug managed to puncture two more holes in the next two tires with great effort, and she then realized she needed to move quickly. Tossing the long nail through the window above her, Ladybug climbed the string shakily back up to the hole, meeting Chat Noir's eyes as she peered inside.

Ladybug pushed her feet off the tunnel wall, diving back into the car and landing on the floor. She pulled on her string and brought the yoyo back to her fingers, attaching that and the nail to her thin belt.

As if the bus hadn't already been squeaking loudly enough, it lurched sideways towards the corner of the deflated tires, and a deafening, high, ear piercing screech suddenly filling the air. Ladybug slipped on the floor and slammed her back against the door when the bus tilted, covering her ears quickly with her hands. Chat Noir let go of the handle uselessly as his legs gave out underneath him, sliding down on the ground towards Ladybug as his hands flew to his ears. The duo shut their eyes, groaning at the painful, head bursting noise.

Ladybug suddenly realized this was the last moment as she felt the bus grow increasingly slower. She could already see the back of the parked subway and the blinding lights of the people-filled station through the large window as the bus finally came to a slow, grinding stop.

Lightly, she felt the bus push against something, heaving it forward for a few more moments before coming to a complete stop. Ladybug uncovered her ears when the pain slowly began to leave her head, the throbbing coming to a hesitant stop like the horrible noise that had filled the air. Overjoyed, she realized that no real harm had come because the bus had just stopped in time. Sure, they had pushed against the other subway train, but it was nothing that would be of any harm.

Ladybug blinked rapidly as she tried to open her eyes in the blinding light. Standing up unsteadily, she shielded her eyes from the lights with her hand and watched as the people stranded in the station began to cheer. Yes, Ladybug was happy the train had stopped just in time, but what about Transporter? It hit her hard that this whole time they never actually captured his akuma. What about her classmates they'd left alone with him?

"This isn't over," Ladybug said sternly, lifting a dazed and confused Chat Noir to his feet.

"Well, I - I guess I know we didn't get that akuma, but -"

"Exactly. We need to go, now!"

Before he could respond, Chat was yanked by his arm through the door and into the first car. The whole bus was now illuminated with lights that filled in from the metro station, and Ladybug was able to see just fine.

They dashed through the next door and into the second car, quickly hurrying past to check for any signs of Transporter. Instead, pausing in the half open doorway, they saw Nathaniel lying on his back on the ground, trying to sit up with a huge bruise on his head. Mylene was on her stomach on a bus seat, without any particular injuries from the bus ride. Kim and Alix were both slumped on the ground by a support pole, groaning with dizziness from the loud screeching and from the titled bus.

"Is everyone okay?" Ladybug shouted, walking down the aisle and staring at them all intently.

"Yeah, fine," came the muffled voice of Kim.

"Good. Is the villain still in here?" Ladybug glanced around the rest of the car, checking for any signs of him.

"No," groaned Mylene. "He showed himself to us, but when the bus started to slow and sorta roll over, he just...vanished."

"Completely into thin air," said Nathaniel, managing to finally sit up.

Ladybug sighed. Perfect.

Just perfect.

This would put her off in a horrible mood for the rest of the day, the rest of the week if they didn't stop him. Guilt began to take over her again, especially when the thought of her getting James Cornfield akumatized came back, and she blamed herself entirely for letting him go.

"This is all my fault," Ladybug muttered miserably, folding her arms and turning to face Chat Noir.

"What? No it's not, don't say that," Chat said softly. "This may not be over yet, but trust me, we'll find him when -" He was suddenly cut off when a group of armored men began to run onto the train, dressed in blue uniforms.

The police.

"Ladybug, Chat Noir," came a deep voice from the midst of the policeman. Lieutenant Roger, the father of Ladybug's classmate Sabrina, came walking behind the running police officers towards them. As the four teens and the driver were tended to by the group of bustling officers, the large frame of Officer Roger stopped in front of the two superheroes.

"Don't worry, we're clearing the station out of people now. What we need is to be enlightened on this villain situation."

…

Once the subway bus and the station full of citizens were evacuated, leaving only the police and the superheroes, Ladybug threw her sharp nail into the air.

After she shouted 'Miraculous Ladybug,' her red and black ladybug magic flew around the station. Every hole she'd made in the bus with her shield was patched back to normal, and the damage to the wheels was recovered.

Tossing her lucky charm in the air this time felt weird; usually it was filled with happiness, with relief and joy that they'd captured the villain's akuma. This time, she had failed. Her charm felt incomplete, like they were missing the victory part of the celebration. Sure, Ladybug had succeeded in preventing a total disaster with the buses, but a dangerous villain was still on the loose, armed with a deadly weapon he was planning to use to kill her and her crush.

The entire battle in the subway felt pointless; Ladybug and Chat Noir had failed to stop Transporter, and they were back to square one. The police were going to get involved at this point, but the whole of Paris knew that only the two superheroes could truly stop supervillains. Ladybug was stressed at the thought of the upcoming events with her parents and the continuous struggle to fight Transporter.

"- guess it's better not to ask how we knew that, okay?" Officer Roger nodded his head, blinking hard as he struggled to fully grasp the details from Chat Noir.

"So the two victims are Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng, got it? Remember, this guy has the power to vanish and reappear anywhere he wants to, which means he'll be able to go through windows and walls. That being said, the victims aren't entirely safe unless someone's with them twenty-four seven. I'm not exactly -"

Ladybug's eyelids began to droop as she dozed off from listening to Chat Noir's explanation. When he had seen her bad mood and stress exhaustion, he had volunteered to fill in Roger on Transporter.

"Right, thanks, Chat Noir. So, if he's after these teenagers but yet he can literally be anywhere he wants to, what do you suggest the police do to help?"

Chat folded his arms and glanced quickly at the dazed Ladybug. "Well, Ladybug and I can personally protect these teens if they need direct protection. I think we'll be better cut out for that then the police will, so I really don't think it's necessary that the police do -"

"What about the kids' parents? Surely they'll want to hear from the police and that the mayor is taking action with a killer on the loose. I mean, I don't doubt they'll be happy to have Ladybug and Chat Noir helping, but you two can't be any older than this Transporter's victims."

Ladybug and Chat frowned at the lieutenant. "We may not be any older than those kids, but don't forget we have superhuman powers and outrank even the police in this situation," Ladybug said coldly. "If it makes you happy, your police force can check up on both of the teenagers tonight to talk to their parents, and Chat Noir and I will meet up with you there."

Before Roger could respond to her remark, Ladybug's earrings beeped as another black dot disappeared.

"Ladybug - you only have three minutes left before you change back into a pumpkin," Chat said. He turned to look at her with a face full of sympathy. Ladybug bit her lip; she would change back soon, and have no choice but to return home to feed her kwami. She'd be stuck there with her overprotective parents, and she wouldn't get the chance to check up on Adrien the way she wanted to.

"I can go right now to Adrien's house," Ladybug blurted, turning to the police officer. "I'll hurry to check on him before I switch back."

Chat suddenly turned red, his eyes growing wide. "No, bad idea." Ladybug shot him an angry glare, obviously not in the mood for having someone turn down her suggestion. All she wanted was to see Adrien - no one should have to stop her.

"Well, what I mean is, you shouldn't do anything more tonight, Ladybug. You look exhausted and you'd be going against your better judgement."

Ladybug sighed.

She knew one hundred percent he was right, but her love and care for Adrien's well being was too great. Ladybug looked up at his face, noticing the same concern he'd shown for Marinette before at the other station. Deciding to make the right decision, Ladybug crossed her arms tightly across her chest.

"Fine - but are you sure you don't need me to cover at least Marinette? Because I can…"

"No, I'm sure. Don't worry, m'lady, I got this."

The duo turned to Roger, who stood before them with an impatient expression. "It's settled, then. I'll meet you at both Adrien's place and Marinette's place," Chat Noir told him confidently.

"Doesn't matter to me. I'll see you soon, then." Officer Roger gave them a respectful nod and walked away to direct his officers roaming the station.

"As long as you're sure you can handle it alone, I guess that works. I just…" Ladybug sighed again, her emotions mixing into one painful knot in her head.

"You just...want to see Adrien."

Ladybug peered up at him in shock, surprised by the fact that he'd almost read her mind. Did Chat Noir know about her love interest in Adrien?

Was she really that obvious, or had she been oblivious to knowing Chat had known all along?

Chat Noir had a strange anger growing under his skin, an anger that was specifically directed at Ladybug. If he could have one thing in the whole word that would make him happy for the rest of his life, it was her. And yet she had completely fallen for a side of him that Chat didn't even consider to really _be_ him. At least, he was almost sure she loved Adrien. Chat didn't know for a fact yet exactly, but the way Ladybug had been concerned for him earlier on the bus, and the look in her eye when she said she really liked him had made Chat suspicious. Ladybug being in love with Adrien really brought out a whole new level of problems for him, especially if he wanted her to love Chat Noir.

"W-Well, I guess I want to know if he's okay, sure," Ladybug said, watching as Chat's face grew more and more dark.

"You sound like you really care about him, don't you?" Chat asked, not wanting to sound blunt when he pushed her to tell him what she thought about Adrien.

"Yes, I do," Ladybug whispered, deciding now was a good moment to reveal to Chat her love for Adrien.

Or was it?

Chat Noir looked down at Ladybug with an anger that was beginning to fade slowly. He waited, waiting for the right moment to ask her and confirm his fear. Ladybug stared intently up at him, wondering if he was going to push his limits.

"Ladybug," Chat muttered quietly, watching her almost dare him to ask the question.

"Do you - do you love him?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter: 8

Ladybug suddenly grew tense as her overconfidence escaped her.

Would she really do that to him?

Tell him yes just to assure to herself that she no longer had feelings for him?

Ladybug had always knew that Chat Noir had a minor love interest in her, but she'd always assumed that love was fake. She'd always had the idea that his love for her was only to make magazine headlines, to give the public a classic superhero romance story that they wanted out of them. Right now was different, much different.

Ladybug could almost feel his jealousy penetrating through his gaze into her blue eyes. Why else would he care about her personal love life?

Even if his boyfriend act was all a joke?

"I -" she began, stuttering when she finally realized that Chat Noir truly loved her. Another beep came from her earrings.

"I - no, I don't."

Ladybug could see the relief on his face as a smile flickered on the corners of his lips.

"Oh, that's, um...good."

Chat flushed red with embarrassment when he saw Ladybug's questioning gaze. He'd gone far out of his way to ask her that suspicious question, and he realized that he had risked Ladybug knowing of his love for her. He wanted her know, of course, but he never actually found a perfect moment to tell her. Chat's outgoing personality had already done him the trouble of dropping major hints, but that wasn't how he truly wanted to tell her.

"So, I guess you'll be checking up on those victims tonight? Alone?" Ladybug asked.

Chat couldn't help staring at her lips and realizing how much he longed to touch them. "Yeah, that's the plan," he said quietly. Ladybug began to shift away backwards, making her way slowly to the exit stairs that led up to the streets.

"I, uh, I should get going. I'm on one spot left," she said nervously, turning to leave. "See ya."

She had barely taken three steps when Chat Noir's face contorted into a mad frown. A sudden blaze of anger filled him again, and he remembered he had wanted to ask her about the lie she had told before. "Ladybug, wait -"

She paused in her steps and turned around. Chat's brow was furrowed, unable to stop his strangely growing anger. He never lied to her about anything, not even small things like this. It upset him to think that he was much more intent on keeping their trust strong than she was.

Or...was it even about trust?

Chat's enraged mouth began to move, mouthing unidentifiable words, but no sound emerged. The thought he had before of the possibility that Marinette was Ladybug came back to him again.

If she was Marinette, then that explained how she'd made it onto the bus from already being on the station. But Ladybug's version was that she had already been on the bus. Chat knew how important it was for her to keep their identities secret from each other, but if she hadn't been telling a lie, more like protecting her identity, then by him asking her about it could endanger the secret of who she really was.

"What is it, Chat?" Ladybug asked with impatience.

"I - nothing, it's nothing. See ya."

He watched as Ladybug dashed up the stairs and out of the station. Chat still thought it strange, but at this point, he was almost positive that Marinette was Ladybug's identity. No matter how much he longed to tell her, Chat wouldn't bring himself to tell her he knew who she was. And even if he was still content on one day revealing who he was to her, Chat still respected her desire to keep it a secret.

Besides, he couldn't do that to her.

He couldn't do that to the love of his life.

…

Marinette thought that the most she'd ever see her mother panicked and frightened for her daughter would be the night she came home after the murder; she was wrong.

This time, her mother had broken down in tears when Marinette came through the door. She had barely been allowed to talk as she was squeezed in tight hugs and slobbered in kisses. Her mother's worried frenzy had lasted at least an hour, exclaiming how the new villain's breakin to the station was all over the news.

She said she was freaking out and trying to call the police when Marinette hadn't come home after being in the same station with the villain. Marinette resisted telling her about being the victim of the villain, but instead let her know that Chat Noir had saved her life.

Her father held her mother as she sobbed for nearly another thirty minutes, before bringing Marinette into the house. They fed her cookies and milk that they insisted Marinette eat, ignoring her protests.

As Marinette sat across from her parents at the dinner table munching on cookies, she felt relieved that the bruises to her forearms Transporter had caused had been fully healed when she threw the nail.

"Oh, Marinette," her mother said shakily in between sobs, digging her head into her husband's side. Marinette sighed, helpless against her overprotective parents. The last thing they'd be doing was worrying if they knew she was Ladybug, but even then they'd probably overreact.

"Alya was so worried about you, that sweet girl ran all the way to the house. She had no idea what had happened to you, and frankly, I still don't understand myself. Alya tried to stay over the whole night for when you came back, but her mother insisted she headed straight home. I was so afraid you had been traumatized."

Marinette had already been questioned on why her hair was a complete mess, and she had come up with the excuse that she had been running quickly all the way to her house.

A thought suddenly hit her when she realized that the police and Chat Noir were coming by later to stop and check on her.

It was either now that she'd tell them of her involvement, or they'd find out later from the police and scold her for lying.

"Listen, mom, dad," Marinette began, sighing.

"Yes, sweetie?" Her parents looked up at her with interest, glad she was participating in making conversation.

"The thing is, I'm a victim to the villain. That's why he came to the particular station I was in, because...well, I was there." Marinette gritted her teeth when she saw her parent's suddenly horrified expression.

"Wait, don't worry! The police are going to come later to check on me and make sure I'm safe, and most likely cover things up with you. Plus, Chat Noir will stop by too as extra protection," she added.

Her mother's terrified, round, innocent face began to stream with tears again, her father laying a hand on the back of her dark hair.

"Marinette, that's...that's terrible!" her father said, glancing at his daughter with the utmost concern.

"I'm not the only one this bad guy's after. He wants to kill Adrien - I mean, hurt Adrien as well." Marinette went red when she saw her parent's bodies heave and shake, her mother's sobs growing louder. "Mom, I'll be fine, I promise. Chat Noir will look after me and I'll be safe...I hope."

Honestly, Marinette was upset as well, and it wasn't because of her parents. There was a combined feeling of guilt and sadness that was overriding her mind, and she wanted more than anything to be alone.

"Can I please go to my room now?" she asked, her eyes trailing miserably to the floor.

Her father's mustache shook as he slowly nodded his head, hugging his wife tighter. "Sure, honey. We love you and you won't forget that, right?" croaked the weak voice of Sabine Dupain-Cheng.

Marinette hurriedly stuffed the remaining cookies from her plate in her purse and headed over to the white stairway that led up to her room. "Yes, mom. Love you too."

Marinette came to the top of the stairs and flipped the trapdoor open, climbing up into her room. Carefully closing the trapdoor back down, Marinette surprisingly didn't take the time to admire being in her room; she had been forced into action all afternoon, and the one place she felt safe was back in her cozy home. She only gave her room one quick glance before heading to the bathroom.

Her room was quite large, with the walls painted pink and mostly plastered with photos of Adrien. Marinette didn't bother to switch the lights on; there was an orange glow that seeped into the room from her window, but the light was fading as evening approached.

Marinette was guilty, guilty of being the cause for James' transformation. So guilty that her mind was distracted from everything around her.

She shut the door to her pink bathroom, looking at her strewn hair in the mirror. She was filthy and in need of a long shower. Tikki popped out of her purse that Marinette set on the counter by the sink, munching on the cookies that she'd given her.

"I know you probably don't agree, but I think it's a good thing you're taking a break tonight. You do realize Chat Noir is your partner for a reason, right? He's got your back for things like this. You need to trust him more."

Marinette pulled her hot pink sweatshirt over her head, glaring at Tikki as she tossed the sweatshirt on the tiled floor. "I _do_ trust him, Tikki. I trust him _enough._ "

Before Tikki could respond to Marinette's angry remark, Marinette cut her off.

"I'm just pissed we didn't catch that akuma. So a 'break' isn't really something I feel like I need right now when there's a dangerous villain on the loose trying to kill me."

Realizing Marinette was in a bad mood and obviously wished to be left alone, the red kwami quietly nestled herself back inside the purse, enjoying her recovery food.

Chat Noir.

Marinette's thoughts began to linger on him as she tried to forget her guilt of causing the newest akuma attack. While she had been Ladybug at the metro station, any particular love she might have felt for him had completely vanished. Instead, her old love for Adrien had begun to increase when she didn't even think that was possible.

The intensity that she had felt before for Adrien was leaving her again. It wasn't until now that it felt like Marinette and Ladybug were two different people. Chat Noir was beginning to steal Marinette's heart again, for no particular reason. What scared her was that she wasn't sure whether or not she was still in love with Adrien.

 _What the hell am I thinking?_

Of course, she was in love with Adrien. She'd rather love him then have to deal with her strange feelings for Chat. It had taken her this long, but she had finally realized that this whole time Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug.

Her mood began to lighten slightly; if he loved Ladybug, then he'd surely love Marinette. Chat had already proven that he accepted her for who she was, so she saw no problem of whether or not he'd accept Marinette to be Ladybug.

Why her love for him had vanished while she was Ladybug was a mystery to her. What puzzled her further was that her original love for Adrien remained with both Ladybug and Marinette. As Ladybug, that love seemed to reach its highest peak.

Marinette began to strip her clothes from her body, making a mental note to wash them after her shower. She started the water in the shower and stepped in, feeling relief as the water poured down over her body. The last thing she needed was mangled and gross hair that had been whipped around by musty wind and planted against the dirty subway tile floor.

A strange thought hit her when her thoughts suddenly drifted back to the Transporter. How come he had insisted that Adrien had been on the bus?

The fact alone didn't make any sense; he wouldn't be all by himself in an empty metro bus, only cars away from four of his classmates who were oblivious to his presence.

There was no reasonable explanation to how he could've been on the bus, unless - Marinette suddenly went pale.

No, it couldn't be.

Chat Noir had left them to go detransform and regain his kwami's energy, which meant he would've been alone in a car, in his civilian form.

That reasoning fit perfectly and made complete sense, but a part of Marinette refused to believe it. She had been spinning around over her love for two boys for the past day, having been completely driven crazy.

To now think they were the same person was...horrifying.

For a whole year since she obtained her miraculous she had always dismissed Chat Noir from being Adrien because of their differences.

She had fallen in love with Adrien for his kind manner, his modest and respectable attitude.

As Ladybug, she had become annoyed with hearing Chat's puns and his constant boasting during battles. The two of them were so unlike one another that it had always seemed like common sense to not believe they were the same person. But now, it seemed like common sense to assume that Adrien had been Chat's civilian form on the bus that Transporter attacked.

Marinette was lost for thoughts as the devastating truth began to mess with her mind. It all made sense, but at the same time, it only caused her more pain to think that this whole time, her beloved crush Adrien was hiding behind Chat Noir's mask.

That Adrien had technically fallen in love with her and she rejected her own crush without realizing it.

…

Adrien had completely forgotten that he was supposed to show up to his mansion as Chat Noir to protect...himself.

Originally, he thought it would make it easier on himself to cover as two people and be left alone, but now he realized the major conflict he had.

Stressed and exhausted, Adrien was lying on his back, staring up at his rockwall from his unmade bed. Plagg was immersed inside his schoolbag again, busying himself with camembert. At the moment, all Adrien could think about was Marinette and Ladybug.

They were both so amazing and mysterious, and he'd be perfectly fine if Marinette turned out to actually be her. Ladybug had told him she hadn't been in love with Adrien, which had come to be a huge relief to him, but now he just saw himself as being plain stupid.

Had he seriously allowed himself to be jealous of himself?

Sometimes, he had to remind himself that Chat Noir couldn't exist without Adrien. It wasn't until then that he had felt like Chat Noir and Adrien were two different people.

If Ladybug was in love with one of them, then that should be good enough for him. Obviously, Ladybug hadn't fallen for Chat, but she also confirmed that she didn't love Adrien.

 _Maybe Marinette fell in love with a version of me,_ he thought. But how if he believed she was Ladybug? Ugh, this whole identity thing made his head hurt…

Adrien quickly sat up when he heard voices outside of his room. There was the unmistakable low and dark voice of his father, and another one that sounded faintly familiar.

Adrien raced quickly out of his large room, wondering if the police had arrived yet. When he came barrelling towards the top of the stairs that led to the last floor of the mansion, Adrien saw his father standing only a few meters away. He stopped, his face going bashful when he saw Gabriel Agreste look over at him. Usually he was never this close to his father.

Adrien was usually the one who was at the bottom of the stairs looking up at him. Slowly, walking with uncertain caution, Adrien stepped forward to look down the stairs at the visitors. Their gazes didn't part as Adrien came to stand next to his father.

He noticed his father had deep circles under his eyes, and his hollow cheeks looked longer than usual. Gabriel's hair seemed to have grayed considerably since the last time Adrien saw him, and he wondered what was causing him so much stress lately.

"Eh-hem," came the manly voice of Officer Roger. Adrien and his father, without saying anything to one another, looked down the stairs at the small group of police officers. Nathalie was standing near them off to the side, obviously having been the one who had let them in and called down Gabriel.

"Hello, Adrien. How are you doing?" Roger asked tenderly. Before Adrien could respond to the officer, his father interrupted. "This lieutenant tells me you're a victim of a new supervillain."

Adrien looked back up at his father, suddenly intimidated. How would his father take this new situation? Would he scold Adrien and keep him stranded in his room, or would he be more understanding the way Adrien would like him to be? Adrien feared the results of talking to the police.

"Care to enlighten us on the details, Adrien?" his father asked coldly.

Adrien sighed, realizing this would only be a waste of time. The police were here to discuss safety measures, and by them taking longer meant Marinette exposed in the open without protection.

"It's a short story, really. I was up on the roof of the hotel with my friend late at night, and it was dark so we could barely see. Then my friend -"

"I'm assuming this was the night you said you were going to meet up with three of your friends at the mayor's hotel?" Gabriel's cold gray eyes pierced through Adrien like scissors cutting through paper. Obviously his father wasn't messing around about this, and he wanted a fully detailed report from his son. Adrien quickly glanced down the stairs and noticed the dead silence from every police officer, watching him being forced to explain to his father.

"Yes, yes it was. We were - um, split up by accident, and I -"

"What do you mean, split up?"

Adrien scowled silently, knowing he could never tell his father he had been embarrassing himself by running around a five star hotel like children from Chloe Bourgeois.

"We had, uh, planned to meet on the roof originally to be by ourselves, but then the plans got changed to have the dinner on a different floor."

Gabriel raised his eyebrows in doubt. "Go on."

"Then, my friend and I noticed two people splashing around in the pool. When we got a better look, we realized that there was a boy drowning someone else. From what we could tell, the person was already drowned when the police got there." Adrien bit his lip, watching his father process this information in his head.

"When were you planning on telling me about this, Adrien?" Gabriel demanded quietly.

Adrien's hands made their way uncomfortably to his jean pockets. "Um, well, I didn't know I was a victim of this guy, I guess. I never realized he was akumatized after he was arrested..."

Gabriel sighed and shook his head, his hands grasped behind his back. "Adrien, that doesn't explain why you never told me before about this."

Adrien tore his eyes away from his father, looking at the police again in embarrassment.

"What's her name?"

Adrien's eyes shot back to his father's lifeless expression as he raised his head. "Who?"

"The girl you were alone with on the roof," his father said. Adrien suddenly felt himself go a deathly white in the face. If his father was able to tell that the friend he'd been alone with up on the roof was a girl, then the situation would not look good for Adrien.

"Marinette," he muttered.

"Tell me if I misinterpreted the story, but you and this girl somehow got lost together and ended up on the roof thinking you two were going to be alone?"

Adrien felt himself frown and begin to get angry. "Well, we didn't _know_ if we were going to be alone, it was dark out and Marinette spotted someone." Gabriel turned away from Adrien and glared back at the patient and obviously intimidated police. "Officer Roger, is it? Was the only purpose of your friendly visit to my house to tell me that my son is in danger?"

The officer coughed, shifting awkwardly beside a silent Nathalie. "Well, Mr. Agreste, yes, we did intend to inform you of his danger. We were also coming to discuss safety measures for Adrien as well. You see, this new supervillain has the inhuman ability to transport anywhere he wants to, which means your son is exposed almost anywhere. That is why Chat Noir will arrive soon for his personal protection, but that will only be temporary. We are also planning to check up on Miss Dupain-Cheng's home, as well as Chat Noir. If there is anything you'd like the police to do for him we are -" Gabriel waved him silent with his hand, much to the officer's shock.

"There is nothing else I want from you. You have already done me the pleasure of informing me of information I am sure my son was never going to tell me about. He already has his personal bodyguard, which will be to our advantage. I will tell this superhero my son doesn't need any more protection than he already has."

Even Nathalie looked a little startled by Gabriel's outburst. Roger almost stepped forward more, stumbling on his stunned words. "But, Mr. Agreste, for the safety of Adrien, we would highly suggest that -"

"No, that is final. Adrien will be fine on his own in the mansion. His bodyguard and Nathalie will be enough protection for him," Gabriel snapped.

Roger blinked, his mouth hanging open. Standing up straight, he cleared his throat. "Of course, we will respect your decision, Mr. Agreste. This may work out for the better, anyhow. Chat Noir will be the perfect protection for Marinette if he doesn't have anyone else to worry about. See you soon, Mr. Agreste."

Gabriel nodded slowly from the top of the stairs. Roger turned around and walked out back through the large doors, closely followed by his fellow officers. As they were making way to leave, Adrien suddenly realized that now was his perfect getaway. He was not looking forward to hearing his father's angry wrath at him, and he needed to get to Marinette's place.

Adrien saw his father watching the leaving police, and he turned around awkwardly and began to make his way swiftly back to his room.

"Adrien, don't think I'm done talking to you."

Sighing, Adrien turned on his heel to look back at his father. "Yes, father?"

"I'm really not pleased with your behavior. It's unacceptable. That's not how I raised you." Adrien stared at the ground, feeling his father's gaze burn into his head.

"I'm sorry, father, I just...didn't want you to worry. I can handle this villain on my own." He suddenly wondered if that was the right thing to say. As Adrien, he was helpless against the Transporter. As Chat Noir, he was fully prepared to fight him.

"The fact that you think you can is what worries me. I don't want the police having any part in this -" Adrien rolled his eyes. _As usual,_ he thought.

"- and frankly, I don't want you having any part in this. You'll be well protected in the mansion, you know that." Adrien looked up from the floor, feeling his anger boil beneath his skin.

"Father, I _am_ a part of this, and there's nothing you can do to stop that. All I want is for Marinette not to get hurt, because I know she's more involved in this than I am. She was _attacked_ at the station, father," he said with slight rage.

"Well, then it should please you to know that this superhero will be protecting her if you care about her so much. But whatever happens to her is not our problem, Adrien, and I won't allow you to be fully involved with this outside of the house." Adrien exhaled miserably, wondering when this torture would end.

"I really don't like this, Adrien, not at all. If you ask me, you pulled yourself into this mess. What were you _actually_ doing on the roof alone with that girl, Adrien?"

Confused, Adrien's eyes grew wide.

It was obvious to him that his father didn't believe Adrien's story of how they ended up on the roof, but what was his father trying to say? "I told you, we were just...lost."

Gabriel raised his eyebrows again. "Lost?" he asked. Adrien nodded.

Sighing and shaking his head, Gabriel pointed down the hall in Adrien's direction. "Go to your room and stay there for the rest of the night. I don't want this supervillain finding you in this house, and I'll have your bodyguard stand by your door."

Adrien didn't need to be told twice. He dashed away from his father and bolted into his room. If there was one person he needed to be around at this second, it was Marinette.


	9. Chapter 9

**OMG this chapter…so this pretty much proves I'm a fan of Marichat :) I really like Ladynoir too, so that'll show up soon in one of the next four chapters.**

Chapter: 9

Marinette tried not to stress herself out over who Chat Noir's real identity was. Now was her time to relax and enjoy the time all to herself. _That's a bit difficult when Chat can show up any minute in my room,_ she thought gloomily as she dried herself off with a towel.

Her shower had been abnormally long, washing her hair at least five times over before coating it in conditioner. At least now she actually felt very clean, especially her silky black hair. Wrapping her towel around her naked body, Marinette stepped out of her bathroom and, walking across her room, seized her pajamas from the long resting couch. It was placed at the far back of her room, cushioned like a bed.

She dropped her towel on the floor and quickly dressed into a pink night shirt and gray shorts. Usually she dressed into her sweatpants, but with summer approaching, the days were increasing in temperature.

Marinette sat on the couch and combed out her wet hair, not bothering to turn the room lights on. The sun had already gone down, and only blackness filled into the room through her window. She squeezed the remaining water from her black hair, drying it one more time with her towel.

"Marinette!"

Marinette started when she heard the squeaky voice only inches from her face. Turning to the left in fright, Marinette nearly jumped off the couch when she saw her kwami floating while holding a cookie. Exhaling with slight relief, Marinette laughed softly.

"Oh, hey Tikki."

Marinette's smiled faded when she suddenly remembered the most recent conversation she had with her friend. Tikki didn't proceed to speak when she saw that Marinette had something to say to her.

"Look, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about earlier. Sorry I sorta snapped at you," Marinette said shyly.

A large smile spread across Tikki's tiny face, and she flew up to Marinette's cheek, rubbing her head passionately against her. Marinette cupped the kwami closer to her, and gave the creatures small head a tiny kiss.

"Don't apologize, Mari. I understand the stress of being Ladybug. It always happens to the miraculous holders," Tikki said quietly. Marinette grinned at her small friend, watching her munch the cookie happily.

"What I wanted to say, Marinette-" Tikki swallowed a rather large chunk off of the hardened recovery food, "-was that Chat Noir will probably be here any minute, and if you wanted to take down the photos of Adrien, now is the time to do it."

Marinette's eyes suddenly grew wide. Her kwami was right; if she truly believed Adrien was Chat Noir, he would find out her obsession over him in another identity. Quickly, Marinette began to bustle around the dark room, snatching at the magazine cut-outs. She convinced herself she was only taking them down to avoid embarrassment with Chat Noir, not that she actually believed he was Adrien.

When she finished, Marinette piled the photos behind her computer at her desk, concealing them from sight. Just as she headed back over to her couch, Marinette heard a swing of a door, followed by a thud on her bed platform above her head. She spotted Tikki flying quickly back into the bathroom, hiding. Confused and scared, Marinette walked backwards to look up at her bed.

The trapdoor had been flung wide open above the bed that led up to the balcony, filling her room with fresh evening air and the white light of the full moon.

She watched just in time as Chat Noir began to hurry down her ladder from her bed platform, looking around her room in concern. The blond superhero quickly approached Marinette, checking for any signs of danger that could be nearby.

"Marinette, are you okay? Transporter didn't come here, did he?"

Marinette was slightly startled by his sudden rush into her room. "N-No, I'm fine," she said, almost out of breath at the sight of his face. She watched his deep green eyes finally turn to look at her face, locking onto her gaze. Marinette flinched as Chat Noir gently took her forearms in his gloved hands.

"How are your arms? Are they still bruised?" He glanced down at her arms, observing them over in his grasp.

"They're fine," Marinette said quietly, keeping her stare locked on his face. Chat let her arms go, running a nervous hand through his hair. "Good. That's all good." He stepped away from Marinette, beginning to look around her room with interest.

 _It's a good thing I hid those photos,_ she thought nervously, watching him as he admired his surroundings.

"Any particular reason the lights are off?" Chat asked, gesturing towards the pink lamp by her couch. "There's no way you can see in here. I mean, I can, since I've got my night vision."

Acting as if she'd been ordered, Marinette hurried to her lamp and switched it on, realizing she could've done as well with the light. The lamp only shone around the back of her room, illuminating the floor and identifying the features of her room.

"Oh, right, I forgot about your night vision," she said. Marinette sat down on the couch, lifting her one leg up. Chat Noir walked towards the light source and slumped himself next to her.

"That wasn't a command, you know," Chat said, smirking.

Marinette felt her cheeks heat up, suddenly wishing he wasn't in her room at this time. "Thanks, Chat, but I think I can tell a command from a simple suggestion," she retorted.

The light from the lamp shone brightly on Chats face, making his hair turn a lighter shade of blond. His looks were much more stunning to Marinette now then they had been before as Ladybug.

"Are the police here yet?" Chat asked casually.

"Uh, no, um...I didn't know the police were going to come," Marinette said uncertainly when she realized that only Ladybug knew that piece of information.

"Well, you didn't seem too startled when I showed up," Chat said, a sly grin spreading over his face.

"I guess you're just too obvious, huh, kitty?"

They exchanged smiles with one another, a certain eagerness burning in both of their eyes. Marinette glanced up at him shyly when she saw that his mood seemed to dim.

"Sorry if I was a little hasty before," Chat said with a serious expression. Marinette raised her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"When we were in the station. After Transporter got away," Chat said, wondering if this was the same girl who had jumped onto the subway bus and met him only minutes later as a superhero.

"You weren't being hasty," Marinette said in a slight whisper. "You were just...doing your job."

She brought her other leg up onto the couch and sat cross-legged, leaning forward in Chat's direction.

"I wasn't going to let him hurt you," Chat said. "You know I'd do anything to protect you."

"I know," she replied simply. "But it's not like you'll be able to be next to me twenty four seven. I guess that's the only way I'll be safe from a guy who can be anywhere he wants to be."

Chat looked at her sparkling blue eyes, her wet hair falling around her shoulders. "The only conflict is that your personal life would interfere with protecting me for another week. Or, however long it'll take you and Ladybug to catch this guy," Marinette continued, fiddling with her hairbrush.

"We'll finish this guy off soon, don't worry princess," Chat said with a wave of his gloved hand. He leaned back against his hands on the couch, his eyes locked on Marinette's face. "What was your parents' reaction to all this?"

"Ugh, don't even remind me. My mother went off like a rampage for about an hour. Geez, I can't believe the tears and sobbing. Sometimes they're a bit ridiculous," Marinette said miserably, shaking her head at the memory.

"Well, to be fair, you were pinned down by a supervillain with a knife in a public subway station, screaming at the top of your lungs as he tortured you. Your arms were nearly crushed, and he almost stabbed you to death."

Chat grinned when he saw Marinette's slightly embarrassed and annoyed face. "Seriously? Well, they don't know that," she replied hotly, rolling her eyes. "For all they know, the villain hadn't even touched me before you broke in."

"Did you tell them you're the victim?" Chat asked. Marinette sighed. "Unfortunately. I told them about Adrien, too, but they were too caught up in tears to ask for the details," she said.

Marinette suddenly became stiff when she heard herself say Adrien's name as she looked at Chat Noir.

Could the love of her life really be the person right in front of her as they spoke?

Could he really be the one hiding behind her partner's mask, without realizing she was his crime fighting teammate?

Chat only smiled warmly, showing no indication of puzzlement at Adrien's name. "I think it's amazing your parents' care so much about you," he said. "You don't realize how lucky you are."

Marinette was confused at that last statement. Deciding she'd had enough parent talk, she converted the conversation onto another topic. "So, um, what exactly are the police coming for?" Marinette asked, her cheeks blushing red.

"Just to talk with your parents and discuss safety measures for you to take, since you're the victim. If you ask me, they probably won't say anything more than to lock the windows and shut the doors. Like that'll do any help," Chat said sarcastically. "Trust me, Mari, I'm your best bet of protection." He winked at her, and received a playful scowl.

"Trust _me,_ little do you know that I can -" Marinette suddenly paused, realizing that her identity was already on the line with him. Hadn't she lied to him about where she'd been before the bus started moving, even when they'd been thrown out of the hole she'd made by the Transporter? That risky stunt had been a little obvious.

"Nevermind," she said quickly. "Part of my parents' rant was that I should shut all my doors and lock my windows and-" Marinette paused for the second time when her eyes settled on the hole above her bed platform. Chat Noir had left the trapdoor open that led out onto the balcony.

Her eyes suddenly widened with minor fright, leaping off of her couch and dashing over to the wooden stairs. "Chat!" she shouted, bolting swiftly up the small stairway to the top of her bed platform. Chat Noir followed her, moving slower than she had, but smirking when he saw her climbing her bed to pull down the door.

Marinette succeeded in closing the flap shut, cutting off the night air into her bedroom. Up by her bed, it was dark without the lamp light. She swung her legs off of her bed, spotting Chat Noir leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

"We've gone over this, y'know," he said smartly, gazing at Marinette as she walked over to him with a sly grin. "Closing doors won't do anything to stop a guy who can transport through anything."

"I don't want to upset my parents," Marinette said, stopping in front of him. For no reason, her cheeks began to glow a hot pink. She noticed she was only a few inches away from Chat Noir, and she wondered if he really had that strong enough effect on her.

Marinette found she was barely able to look up at him without blushing and feeling queasy. The look he now gave her was so intimidating, so powerful, so... _irresistible._

His smile was warm and gentle, his eyes were flashing her an intense shade of green as they seemed to pierce straight through her skull.

"Do they know I'm here?" he asked, much more quietly than the way he'd been talking before.

Marinette began to stumble on her words, unsure of how to take her eyes away from his handsome face. "N-No, I don't…I don't think so," she said meekly.

Her heart raced as time seemed to slow down, trapping her by herself with only Chat Noir in front of her. A sudden urge emerged from deep within her, wanting to get closer to him, wanting to touch and feel his skin. Hoping it wasn't just her, Marinette felt the distance between their faces grow smaller.

"That's probably a good thing," Chat said.

Marinette could feel his hot breath against her cheeks, feel the warmth that emitted from his body. He uncrossed his arms, and Marinette could almost hear the sound of his foot take a step closer.

This wasn't wrong, was it?

Marinette wasn't sure if her love for Chat Noir would damage her love for Adrien. It wasn't until now that Marinette realized they were much more closer than before, their faces only centimeters from touching.

"I hope they weren't planning on coming up here soon, were they?"

His voice was almost distant in her ears. Marinettes eyelids began to flutter closed. She felt Chat's hands slip past her arms and wrap around her lower back, pressing her against him. Marinette uncontrollably brought her hands to his shoulders, touching the dry skin of his neck.

"Well...let's just hope for the best," Marinette whispered, closing her eyes as she felt Chat's lips finally press against hers.

Chat Noir found her lips were soft and warm, moving against his passionately. The moment was everything he thought it would be and much more; the way her lips moved, the warmth and smooth feeling of her skin.

Without their lips parting, Chat and Marinette began to move backwards, shifting away from the wall and moving towards Marinette's bed. Marinette felt herself being pushed up onto the bed as Chat Noir climbed on after her.

Marinette laid underneath Chat on her bed, kissing him as she pulled his head closer to hers. Her hands ran over his muscular shoulders and forearms, and she stroked the top of his blond hair.

Marinette had never thought she'd enjoy kissing him this much, and it only made her want to keep the moment forever. She brought her tongue out over Chats lips, and he opened his mouth wider to brush his tongue back against hers.

Chat Noir fiddled with the hem of her shirt, his hands moving under the fabric and touching her skin. Marinette felt her shirt push halfway up her stomach, her exposed skin pressing against the leather of his suit. She leaned upwards to move her lips past his, past his jawline and over to his ear.

"I love you," she whispered, her lips just barely brushing against his ear.

Chat responded by bringing his head lower, kissing over her chin until his lips trailed their way down to her neck. Marinette leaned her head farther back against her pillows as Chat Noir kissed her neck, moving his lips up and down her skin.

Marinette lightly gasped and tangled her fingers within his hair, his lips still grazing her neck as his head swooned lower. Chat finally kissed his way back over her jawline and found her lips again, dragging his tongue back over her mouth.

Marinette's hand traced down his neck, over his shoulder and below his collarbone. She grasped the yellow bell on his jacket and pulled the zipper down the front of his chest, exposing his bare skin. She was touching his chest with her hand when Chat suddenly pulled his lips away from her, staring down at her from right above her head.

Confused, Marinette's hand lingered on his chest as she watched his hand graze her wet hair.

"You smell good," Chat said, flashing her a white smile.

"Well I did just take a shower," Marinette replied, grinning.

He wiped the bangs from her face as he looked down at her sparkling eyes. Everything about her was beautiful; her pink cheeks, her black hair, her pretty face. Could she really be the girl behind the ladybug mask?

Could it be true that Ladybug loved him?

Before, he had tried to reassure himself they were two different people, but this moment could confirm that Ladybug had finally fallen for him.

"How long are you planning on staying?" Marinette asked joyfully, tapping the tip of his nose.

"Unfortunately, not much longer after the police get here. I've got my own personal life to attend to. If it were up to me, I'd probably stay all night," Chat replied, winking.

Marinette rolled her eyes as a smile spread across her lips. She suddenly remembered the conversation they'd had with the police before at the train station. The deal was that the police would check up on her and Adrien-

Oh shit.

"Wait, Chat!" she yelled, struggling to sit up as she pushed him off of her. He sat up in front of her, a look of puzzlement on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Chat, what about Adrien?" she said, her eyes growing wide with fear. "You didn't just leave him, did you?"

Chat turned more red than he already was. Her fear for Adrien reminded him greatly of Ladybug. "He's fine," he said bluntly. "I was told not to go to his house because he's supposedly 'got the best protection already.'"

Marinette's muscles relaxed. "So...they didn't even want you to watch him?"

"No."

Chat looked up at her, slightly annoyed by this constant pattern of being overprotective of Adrien. "He'll be fine. And besides, now I have an excuse to be with you," he said.

Chat leaned forward towards Marinette, shifting closer to her as he shut his eyes and prepared to kiss her again. Marinette stopped his lips from touching hers with her finger, and he opened his eyes. Confused, Chat sat back again, watching an evil smile crawl over her lips.

"Don't think you're the only one I'm in love with," she said, a smirk appearing on her face. If he really was Adrien, then he knew that Adrien was as well protected as he could get.

Marinette wanted to test him; to push him until he wasn't able to hide his identity any longer. She had told him as Ladybug she wasn't in love with Adrien, so by telling him as Marinette she did love him, she would be further protecting her own secret.

"I can honestly say I didn't expect that," Chat replied, a small frown spreading on his lips. "That's a pretty bold statement considering what you just did with me."

Marinette seemed gleeful at his upset expression. She scooted upwards and over his legs to sit on his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist as she touched his exposed chest.

"I love him just as much as I love you," Marinette said, reaching up and running a hand through the front of his hair. "So, not really."

Chat felt the soothing motion of her fingers through his hair, considering who it was she may be in love with. The same jealousy of himself came back when he thought it might be Adrien. But how if she was Ladybug?

Hadn't she already told him she wasn't in love with Adrien?

Chat Noir grabbed her hand from his hair and took it down.

"Do I have the right to know who it is?" he asked, massaging her hand and interlocking their fingers.

"Okay. Adrien Agreste," Marinette said, smiling as she waited for his reaction. Chat only slightly winced at the sound of his name, but for some reason, he was expecting that. All this time he'd thought Marinette disliked him, but it wasn't until now that her love for him made somewhat common sense. It also made sense for Ladybug to have lied to him in order to hide her identity from being Marinette.

"I kind of figured that," Chat muttered.

"Really?" Marinette raised her eyebrows in doubt. Chat wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed her even closer to him then she already was, this time leaning her backwards on the bed underneath him.

Marinette was lying on her back again, looking up at Chat Noir on top of her.

"Are you done with talking about Adrien?" she asked, grinning. Her legs were still around his body, her feet touching the back of his calves.

He shook his head in disbelief at the dangerous girl beneath him. He couldn't help as an eager smile spread across his lips.

"Kiss me," Chat said, staring intently at her blue eyes.

"Alright," Marinette replied, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling his head down.

Their lips met again, both smiling unintentionally as they kissed.

…

Sabine and Tom Dupain-Cheng glanced up at the bakery entrance door. First in came Officer Roger, looking tired and slightly annoyed. Behind him walked three more policeman, only three short of men that had been at the Agreste mansion. Marinette's parents looked relieved when they saw the small force begin to approach the counter of the bakery.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng?" Roger asked, folding his arms and stopping before the shopping counter. Sabine began to tear up again, and her husband nodded.

"Are either of you aware of the danger your daughter is in from a deadly new akuma attack?"

Sighing, Tom and Sabine glanced nervously at each other. "Yes," Sabine whispered, quickly grasping Tom's large hand. "Marinette's in her room," Tom said stressfully. "She told us how she was a victim for a supervillain, and that the police would soon come to check up on her."

"Well, that's exactly what I'm here for, Mr. Dupain," Roger said, giving them a reassuring smile. "There's no need to be worried, your daughter will be entirely safe with the authorities handling the case. We're going to need to go over some protection policies for Marinette and we'll be on our way."

Sabine wiped her eyes with the cuff of her sleeve and smiled weakly back at the officer. "Marinette also mentioned that Chat Noir would be coming to check on her as well," she said. Roger frowned slightly, looking behind him at the three other officers.

"Ah, yes, he volunteered to watch her as a back-up protection. I'm not sure if you have been informed yet, but this villain can supposedly transport anywhere he wants to. Chat Noir's offering to guard the other victim was rejected, so Marinette will receive more protection than planned for tonight. That is, if he even showed up yet. Do you know if he's here?"

Tom and Sabine started to back away from the counter, shifting towards the door that led up to their house behind them. "We aren't sure. But how about we go upstairs and talk to Marinette?" Tom suggested, gesturing his hand towards the door. Officer Roger nodded and motioned his head for the policeman to follow him through the stairway door.

…

Chat Noir's hand was slightly under Marinette's shirt again as he continued to kiss her, being pulled down by her hands on the back of his head. Marinette felt the warm skin of his neck with her fingers, dragging her hands down to his exposed chest again.

Chat Noir's lips drifted away from hers as he kissed down her jawline, and brushed his lips against her ear.

"I love you too," he said softly, moving his lips back over to hers.

They continued to kiss, without stopping to make conversation. The only other time either of them had experienced such a magical moment like this one before was being around the loves of their lives, Adrien and Ladybug. Before, they had each been madly in love with those two, but the idea that they were meant to be was too great.

What did it matter anyways to Marinette if Chat Noir turned out to be Adrien?

And why would Chat care if he was kissing Marinette if she turned out to be Ladybugs secret identity?

"Marinette!"

Marinette suddenly pulled her lips away from Chat Noir, looking up at him in panic. "You heard that, right?" she asked, trying to sit up from underneath him.

"No," Chat said, lifting himself off of her and looking at her in confusion. He had an impatient urge to continue kissing her without having to stop and sit up again, but Marinette was practically pushing him away to get up.

"Marinette, come down! The police are here!" came the unmistakable call of her mother. "I definitely heard that," Chat said as his impatience left him, glancing down at her room below.

 _Shit._ Marinette thought.

Her parents most likely wouldn't be happy if they found out Chat Noir had already came into her room and she hadn't let them know.

"Let's go," Marinette said, sighing as she jumped off the bed and quickly hurried down the stairs. Chat followed her off the bed platform down the ladder, stepping into the light of the lamp by the couch. He suddenly realized the strange situation he'd be in with meeting Marinette's parents.

He watched as Marinette lifted the trapdoor, spilling more light into her room. She waved for him to follow her, and she stepped down onto the white stairway below.

Her parents were standing in the kitchen with Officer Roger, surrounded by three other policeman. Their deep conversation was cut short as their heads turned swiftly to stare at Marinette. She went red as she walked farther down the stairway, the noise level from the adults suddenly declining as they stared at the teenager walking down the stairs. Realizing her hair was a terrible mess and her shirt was wrinkled, Marinette flushed more with embarrassment.

"Hey, Marinette - I can see Chat Noir already got here?" said Roger, his annoyed eyebrows raising when he noticed the blond superhero start to descend the stairs after her.

Marinette smiled and nodded, glancing at Chat beside her on the stairs. He was nervous as he felt the group of people in the kitchen eye him as he followed Marinette down the white stairway and into the kitchen.

"Are you...okay, Marinette?" Sabine asked, looking at her wild hair worriedly. Marinette quickly began to brush her black locks with her fingers, smiling awkwardly as she fixed the back.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine...I had a shower a little while ago, and I guess my hair dried strangely," she said. The adults didn't seem to take any suspicion to her explanation as their attention averted to Chat Noir behind her. Marinette's father extended his hand out to him, giving him a slight smile.

"We might have met before, Chat Noir, but I'm Marinette's father, Tom."

Chat smiled warmly at him as he accepted his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, sir," he said, glancing over at a giggling Marinette. Grinning, Chat Noir let go of Tom's hand and turned to face his wife.

"And you are?" he asked, offering his hand out to Sabine. "Marinette's mother," she said coldly, slowly reaching her hand out to shake his gloved one.

Chat smiled at her as well, but she only flashed him an overly suspicious look. "Marinette, you never told us he had already got here," Tom said, noticing his wife's menacing stares at Chat Noir.

"Well, he only _just_ came in my room," Marinette said as casually as she could, exchanging worried glances with Chat. Her parents only nodded slowly, seeming to be convinced enough.

"As you have been informed of already, Marinette, you're the victim of the newest super villain in Paris. The problem is, you're not exactly safe anywhere, not even in your own room. In that case, the police have been told to make immediate action and put out any necessary protection policies while we deal with this maniac," said Roger, somewhat more energetic than he was while first entering their house.

Sabine finally took her gaze away from Chat Noir and turned to Roger. "What do you suggest we do, then?" she asked. "It may not do much, but it will always help to lock all the windows and doors at all times," Roger said.

"You're right, that won't do much at all. Marinette isn't safe unless someone is with her at all times," said Chat, stepping towards Roger. The officer frowned, crossing his arms. "It's not like you or Ladybug can be, so what do you think we should - um, Chat Noir? Your, uh…" Roger began, stammering on his own puzzlement.

Marinette grew confused when both her parents and Officer Roger suddenly stared at Chat with slightly shocked expressions. Roger pointed to his collar on his police uniform, indicating a message for Chat Noir.

Chat raised his eyebrows at the officer, just as baffled as Marinette, before looking down at his suit. Marinette grit her teeth when she saw what they had been gaping at. Chat's zipper was still pulled halfway down his chest.

Quickly, he yanked his yellow bell up to his collarbone, zipping his jacket back up. Flashing everyone an apologetic smile, Chat Noir gave Marinette a look as if he was about to burst out in laughter. Marinette only frowned at him; coming out of her room with a low zipper revealing his chest would be overly suspicious to the adults.

"Uh, sorry about that. It was, um...kinda hot up in her room, y'know?"

It took all Marinette had in order not to scowl loudly.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter: 10

Marinette watched her parents eye Chat Noir with a suspicious glare, a type of look she didn't think she'd ever seen on them before. Obviously, they were suspicious of her and Chat having been alone together in her room, and Marinette became paranoid watching them.

Chat Noir would have to leave as soon as the police were gone, otherwise her parents might walk into her room every five seconds as a precaution.

Chat and Officer Roger were deep in a conversation about Marinette's safety measures, deciding all the actions that she could take in order to help keep her safe. "Right, okay. Tom, Sabine, make sure you either drive Marinette to school everyday or have her walk there with a friend. When she gets home from school, it might not be best for her to stay all alone in her room all evening. The police will come as often as we can and update you on any recent information until the villain is caught," Roger said confidently. Marinette's parents nodded in unison.

"Will that be all?" Sabine asked.

"I believe so. Chat Noir and Ladybug will probably be on a constant watch for this supervillain, so we'll mostly leave it up to them to obtain the culprit," Roger said, suddenly looking disappointed at putting his faith in the superheroes.

Marinette coughed lightly, turning to face her parents. "Um, I have some homework I need to finish before school tomorrow. If the police are leaving, can I go back up?" she asked timidly.

Her parents glanced at each other hesitantly, looking at Chat Noir one last time. "Sure, honey," said Tom when his wife failed to give a straight answer.

"Thank you," Marinette told Officer Roger, then quickly hurried to the white staircase. "No problem, Marinette," Roger said, indicating for the three policeman to wrap up their investigation.

Marinette paused at the bottom of the stairs, and gestured for Chat Noir to follow her back up. "Nice meeting you," Chat said quickly to Marinette's parents, trying not to cause more tension. They nodded their heads slowly as they watched him hurry after Marinette and disappear into her room above.

"That was...awkward," Marinette said, giggling. The trapdoor was shut and she was positive that the police were heading out, which meant it was time for Chat to leave. "I think they hate me," he said, smirking. "Your parents."

Marinette rolled her eyes as she grabbed his arm and led him up the ladder to her bed platform. "I think we just made ourselves suspicious, that's all," she said.

Chat Noir watched as Marinette climbed back onto her bed and pushed the trapdoor open above her head. The cool night air filled into the room, causing a shiver to run down her spine. Marinette looked back at Chat, who was standing by the corner of her bed.

She didn't want him to leave, not at all. His glowing eyes captivated her entirely, forcing her instincts to want to stick to him like a magnet. The urge to kiss and touch him grew almost unbearable, and her better judgement knew he needed to leave as quickly as possible.

"I'm guessing you want me to leave so you can finish your homework?" Chat asked sarcastically.

"No, I finished my homework while I was in school. I want you to leave so that my parents don't start barging in every five seconds while you're here," Marinette replied matter-of-factly.

She pulled herself up onto her balcony, suddenly able to see much better in the moonlight. The night was cold, and it gave her arms goosebumps.

Marinette hugged her arms as she looked out at the city, seeming so silent and lifeless. Transporter could be hiding anywhere out there, just waiting for the right moment to plunge his knife into her body.

"You don't need to worry, you know," came Chat's voice from behind her. Marinette jumped slightly, surprised she hadn't heard him come up.

"Worry? What do you mean?" she asked quietly, turning around to face him. "This guy won't be a threat to you, I promise," he said, locking his gaze onto hers. This was about the time that Marinette felt queasy around him, like she wasn't able to properly function and think.

It wasn't until now that Marinette realized that she was truly afraid for her life. She was scared, and she was definitely worried, but she believed Chat Noir when he said he would protect her. She felt his gloved hand as it cupped the side of her face, gently stroking her cheek.

"I know," she whispered.

Chat tilted her chin upwards, leaning forward as he kissed her. Marinette slowly unfolded her arms and wrapped them around his shoulders, immersing her fingers deep within his blond hair.

She felt the warmth of his body shield her from the cold air, just like the way he'd shield her from the Transporter. Their tongues grazed one another as Chat slowly pulled away.

"I have to go now, Marinette," Chat said, heading towards the balcony railing. Marinette watched him walk away longingly, wishing they could stay like that all night.

"Can I count on seeing you again soon?" Marinette asked, her blue eyes twinkling with a sort of eagerness.

Chat took his baton from his lower back as he stepped onto the concrete railing. His figure was hard to see in the dark, but she could easily spot his shining weapon.

"Very soon, princess," he said, and just like that, he was gone. Chat extended the staff and used it to heave himself out and into the dark city beyond. Marinette leaned against the balcony railing dreamily, staring at the spot that he'd last appeared in her sight before disappearing behind a high rooftop.

Never did Marinette ever imagine that one day she'd fall in love with Chat Noir, much less ever believe one hundred percent that his secret identity was Adrien Agreste.

...

"I hate myself right now," Alya scowled, and Marinette rolled her eyes for the fifth time.

Alya had been off on a frenzy ever since Marinette arrived at school, having actually been on time for once. Marinette was walked over by her mother, who was very content on following the police's instructions for the safety measures.

"Are you _sure_ you're not mad at me? I mean, I totally freaked out when I saw that psycho! I didn't even notice that you tripped, much less see that creep attack you."

Marinette shook her head and smiled weakly. "Alya, for the last time, I'm not mad at you. It's not your fault for anything that happened, trust me," she said.

They were seated at their usual spots in home room, Marinette having been eyeing the seat in front of her, dreading the moment that Adrien walked through the door. She was almost positive that he was Chat Noir, which would mean that he had been in her room last night, kissing her senseless on top of her bed.

Marinette had lazily thrown on a pair of blue jeans and a blue and white striped jacket that she had made by herself in her spare time. Her hair was strewn in a high ponytail, and her shoes were the usual pink flats.

Alya seemed to have been just as stressed as Marinette had; her hair was down by her shoulders, frizzy and sticking up in every direction. She wore a simple purple t-shirt and jeans that Marinette noticed wasn't her usual fashion style. Obviously, Alya had been worried sick for her friend.

"I'm still sorry, Marinette," Alya said, frowning and leaning her head against her hand. "I _will_ make it up to you, I promise."

Marinette nodded and put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, flashing her a warm smile. The class was somewhat quiet, and hardly anyone had shown to school yet. At that moment, the few people in the classroom turned in their seats turned to see Kim, Alix, Nathaniel, and Mylene walking in through the door, interrupting the silent atmosphere with loud talking.

"No one is going to believe that, Kim," said Nathaniel, rolling his eyes. "Oh please, Nath, everyone saw it! Right, Alix?" Kim said, running an overconfident hand through his hair.

"Kim, we saw Ladybug about to kill herself from just talking to you. No, she was definitely not interested in you," Alix scowled.

Marinette went red as she watched them start to walk up the aisle, suddenly remembering that they'd been on the metro train while she was Ladybug. She should've guessed that they'd want to brag about their adventure with two famous superheroes at school.

The four of them received angry glares from the limited students in the classroom. As they passed Marinette up the aisleway, they suddenly stared at her and stopped. "Omg, it's Marinette!" Mylene said triumphantly, turning to face her. Marinette sighed, having forgot she'd told them about Transporter's victims.

"Dude, you realize you're an actual victim to this new supervillain, right?" Alix asked with glee. "Ladybug told us herself. Can you believe we actually met _and_ talked to her? It was crazy."

"Yes, Alix, I do realize I'm a victim, thanks. It's kinda hard not to when I was almost killed by a green-skinned maniac with a dagger in a metro station," Marinette retorted tiredly.

"You sure you're okay, Marinette?" Nathaniel asked shyly, his cheeks blushing red. Marinette grinned at him.

"I'm fine, Nath. I was saved by...Chat Noir," Marinette said, finding it hard to say her partner's name. To think that he'd walk through the door any moment as his civilian form was frightening.

Was it true that Adrien loved her if he was her partner in fighting crime?

Could he really be Chat Noir, the one who had made out with her just the night before?

"Ladybug promised that she'd watch you two," Kim said, putting his hands on his hips. "You and Adrien. Apparently, he's a victim too. Geez, how'd you guys make him that violent? What did you do to piss him off _that_ badly?"

Marinette frowned at him, suddenly angry. She was not in the mood to remember her guilt for accusing an innocent boy of murder, much less confess her stupid story of running around a five star hotel with Adrien.

"None of your business, _Kim_. It was all an accident, by the way. Adrien and I just happened to stumble across him at a really bad time, I guess," Marinette snapped, glaring up at the nosy group.

"Didn't you and Adrien get lost up on a roof or something?" Alya asked, suddenly peering at Marinette with interest. "I don't think you even told _me_ the whole story, girl."

Marinette sighed, deciding the story wasn't personal enough not to tell. "Adrien and I were up on the roof of the hotel, and we noticed a kid we thought was drowning someone else, so we called the police and accused him of murder," Marinette blurted, turning to everyone's facial expressions.

"Happy now?"

"What were you doing with Adrien up on a roof at night, anyway?" Kim asked, smirking. Nathaniel looked at him angrily.

"Seriously, Kim?" he growled.

"Back off, Nath, I wanna hear this," Kim said, failing at his attempt to whisper. Marinette felt herself filling with more rage by the second. The last thing she wanted was to be in the middle of high school drama that the whole class was watching.

"That's none of your business either," she muttered feistily.

"Woah, slow down, girl, I want to hear this too. You never exactly told me why you were up there with him, either," Alya said, showing a more upset expression than an interested one.

 _Like the way you tell me about you and Nino?_ she spat in her head.

Marinette felt herself go red; there was nothing to tell about the story that the group would like to hear. She was fully enraged by now, and her best friend wasn't doing anything to help her. Marinette had always been used to dealing with her anger that seemed to so often emerge, but this time was different.

This time it was about Adrien.

"We got split off from you and Nino, remember? We thought the safest place to go was the roof, so we went and stumbled across the murderer. Damn, you guys, there's nothing to the story, I don't know why the hell you think this is some movie or something," Marinette snarled annoyedly.

"Split off from what?" Mylene asked meekly, hiding behind Alix to shield herself from Marinette's obvious rage.

"We were running from Chloe," Alya said, suddenly realizing what she'd just put her friend through. She had been so caught up in her own curiosity she forgot Marinette had been through too many traumatizing events.

"So she's _not_ Adrien's lover?" asked Kim, sounding slightly disappointed. "I mean, I guess that would make sense, considering all the drama those two had at the beginning of last year." Alya felt her anger level rise up to Marinette's. Standing up in her seat, Alya crossed her arms and stared Kim down angrily.

"No, and even if she is, that's none of your business, douchebag. Actually, that's none of all your businesses, so if you'll just -" Alya was suddenly cut off, and everyone whipped their heads around.

"What's going on?"

Marinette's brow was furrowed low on her forehead in a frown, and her cheeks were pink with heat. When she heard that voice, she quickly lifted her head to see Adrien walk through the door, closely followed by Nino.

 _Oh great._

She could honestly say she didn't want him around, not if he was Chat Noir, not if he was going to jump into the drama and make more problems.

"They're bugging Marinette about her personal life," Nathaniel said. He began to make his way to the back of the classroom, shaking his head with annoyance. He was never one to ever be involved in drama, and everyone knew it.

"All we want to know is if you two are dating," Alix said defensively. "What's so wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with it is that _one_ , it's none of your business, _two_ , we already said no, and _three_ , you weren't even asking that in the first place," Marinette said, her anger that had been directed at Alya from before fading as her friend suddenly took her side.

Adrien frowned when he noticed Marinette's enraged face, and he walked over to his desk to put his bag down. "Just leave her alone right now if she's not in the mood," Adrien said coldly, facing the three nosey teenagers. "What's so wrong with _that?_ "

"Well, I'm sorry!" Kim shouted, throwing his arms in the air dramatically. "We were almost attacked by an evil supervillain, nearly lost our heads being thrown around in an out of control subway bus, and we even had to deal with that stuck-up Chat Noir!"

Adrien scowled and rolled his eyes. "What does that have to do with harassing Marinette, Kim?" he snapped.

"Well, for one, we want some answers if we're going to be dragged into this somehow. All we are is curious and technically we have the right to know," Kim said smartly.

"You have nothing to do with this and it's not your right to know," Alya said, slamming a hand down on her desk.

Marinette was fed up with all of this; everyone was acting like five year olds, and for no reason. There was an argument going on, but it was over nothing.

"Guys, can we please just all shut up? This is so pointless, just everybody mind your own business and sit down," Marinette said.

"Ugh, whatever. You guys just overreact about everything anyway," Alix said, waving her hand as she walked towards her desk with Mylene. Kim shook his head at Adrien and started making his way to his desk.

"You know, you remind me a little bit of Chat Noir," he said, eyeing Adrien with an annoyed expression.

Marinette couldn't help but blush when she heard him say that, especially since she was almost certain Adrien _was,_ in fact, Chat Noir. The strange coincidence made Adrien blush as well, glancing quickly at Marinette to see if she had any suspicion.

 _There's no way she doesn't know my identity by now,_ he thought as he locked onto her gaze.

Kim, Alix, and Mylene started arising class chatter as they explained their adventure on the subway with Ladybug and Chat Noir. The conversation was loud, but Marinette could still feel their eyes on the back of her head.

"What's their problem?" Nino asked from his chair, taking his headphones off and wrapping them back around his neck. Adrien and Nino turned in their seats to face Alya and Marinette, excluding themselves from the rest of the class's discussion.

"Apparently, they were with Ladybug and Chat Noir at the subway while the new villain was there. As of right now, they're bragging about their experience to the whole class," Alya said, leaning her elbows against the table. "They were wondering how Marinette and Adrien pissed the guy off and got him akumatized."

Marinette sighed heavily, blowing her breath. "They were _also_ wondering if Adrien and I are boyfriend and girlfriend," she said miserably. "Thanks for trying to cover for me, Alya, but with our class it won't remain a secret much longer. Besides, Nino's a trustworthy friend, you don't need to lie to him."

Nino shrugged as he pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his play list. "Not that it's big a deal, really. They'll forget about it in a week, trust me. Well, as long as Ladybug and Chat Noir manage to capture that guy's akuma. I mean seriously, those two better hurry up if they want to save your guy's skins," Nino said casually.

Marinette and Adrien were startled by his comment. There was no way he could've possibly known of their identities, but a mixture of guilt and failure suddenly stirred up in the superheroes heads.

Nino noticed both of his friend's sudden agony, and waved his hand quickly in dismissal. "I mean, not to worry! I'm sure they're working on the case as we speak."

Alya shook her head and scowled. "Nino, just shut up, you never help the situation." She looked at her friend and laid her hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Nino's right, though - well, sort of. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you guys," she said, looking into her best friend's eyes.

They were blue, sparkling like the ocean sea. It wasn't until this moment that Alya truly realized what the gravity of the situation could mean for her friend. Marinette smiled, watching her friend's hazel eyes glimmer with worry and concern.

Honestly, she didn't know what she'd do either; Alya was definitely the type of friend who had been destined by fate to enter her realm of friendship. Without her, she wouldn't be worth much, with or without her secret identity.

The words of both his friends sunk in, and the situation had never felt so heavy and dangerous. Adrien knew that there was the horrible possibility that Marinette could be the one who was hurt in all this, and vice versa. He'd never be able to live with himself if he was still alive and he'd never see Ladybug or Marinette ever again.

He looked up at Marinette, silent as he watched her gaze turn slowly over to him. They stared at eachother, comforting one another, reassuring the other that they'd make it through while still worried sick for their lives.

 _I love you,_ Adrien thought, wishing he could say it to her aloud, no matter if it would reveal his identity to her or anyone else.

They gave each other a sad smile as Adrien slightly shifted in his seat, Ms. Bustier walking through the classroom door. They locked eyes until the teacher spoke and Adrien was forced to turn around, a certain longing glistening between them.

 _I love you,_ Marinette thought, wishing she was alone with him to be able to tell him that.

Class started to commence, whispering floating through the room behind Marinette. She should've known this would happen when she became a victim to a famous villain on the news; she'd have to deal with rumors and the painful teasing of her classmates.

Apparently, being a victim with Adrien makes everyone automatically assume they're together, which would forever infringe upon their real relationship.

Marinette felt Alya nudge her arm with her elbow, attempting to gain her attention secretly.

"Hey, Mari, I'm sorry about earlier. You don't have to tell me about anything you don't want me to know. I should've been on your side while those jerks were trying to get information out of you," she whispered sadly.

Marinette suddenly gasped quietly when she started to see what was happening.

Was Alya starting to get used to their broken friendship?

The way that Marinette was constantly lying to her and making things up?

That wasn't okay to her. Marinette wanted to be able to tell her best friend anything she could that wouldn't endanger her identity. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot going on in Marinette's life that didn't concern being Ladybug.

"No, Alya, _I'm_ sorry. I should've remembered to tell you about all that, it's partly my fault," she said quietly, smiling warmly. _For more reasons than you know,_ she thought miserably.

Slightly confused, Alya raised her eyebrows but decided not to push her traumatized friend. Smiling, Alya grabbed Marinette's hand on the table comfortingly.

"I'll always be there for my best friend, you know that, right?"

...

The lights above in the classroom had been flickering for the past ten minutes, stressing out all the students. Ms. Bustier insisted that everyone pay attention to her, despite the constant flashing, as she informed them on an upcoming project. "As you all know, break will be approaching before we know it. In that case, I wanted to hand out your project paper in order to give you a head start on it, just so that you're not all -"

Gasps emerged from the room as the entire classroom filled with sudden darkness. Marinette felt her heart drop with fear; this couldn't mean anything good, especially if she was in the same room as Adrien.

"Class, class, calm down! No one move, I'm going to run down to the principal's office to discuss the situation, I'll be right back." Ms. Bustier was invisible in the darkness, but her heels echoed off the walls as everyone heard her walk out the door.

"What the hell?" Marinette heard Alya mutter beside her.

The whole classroom was full of quiet chatter from the confusing situation. Marinette's heart started beating quickly as her blood filled with adrenaline. "Marinette, I - umphf!"

Startled, Marinette turned quickly in her seat to watch as Alya's blurry outline was suddenly pulled away by an unidentifiable force. "Alya!" she gasped, reaching her hand out to her left. Marinette saw another figure replace Alya's spot, a larger figure with a distinguished bright red hair color. The figure, with a matching striped suit, lunged at her hastily.

Marinette screamed as she was flung out of her seat and onto the ground, feeling the figure collide into her as she laid on the ground. Groaning, Marinette sat up and scooted her back against a desk in the classroom, trying to get as far away from the person who'd pushed her to the ground as possible.

The lights flickered back on as the loud bustling and commotion from her classmates ensued, startled by her sudden scream. Everyone was standing and screaming, running about the room, but Marinette knew none of them had anything to worry about; she was the current target. Transporter ignored them all as he walked on his knees towards the cowering Marinette, his knife raised.

"Wait -" she yelled in fear, her hand outstretched in front of her head, kicking her legs out. The class was scattered about the room, and Alya was lying on the floor, dazed and rubbing her head. Marinette had never feared for her life more than this moment before.

As her eyes shut, Marinette didn't notice the new figure who suddenly appeared from her right and rammed into Transporter, knocking them both down on the aisle steps. "Adrien, what the hell -"

Transporter wrestled Adrien on the floor, trying to stab him with the dagger as Adrien clenched the villain's wrist away from him. The classroom was filled with screams as everyone sprinted around uselessly, heading noisily towards the door. Nino pushed his way through the crowd that jammed past him to get out of the room, making his way towards the fallen Alya.

Alya shielded her head as she lay on the ground to avoid being stepped on as the crazy mass passed. When the students cleared, their distant screams audible from the hallway, Alya raised her head up slowly as Nino grabbed her arm and quickly pulled her to her feet.

Marinette felt somewhat relieved when she noticed that every one of her classmates had vanished down the hallway, but her attention was fully drawn to the fight on the ground. She stared in shock as Adrien and Transporter wrestled and fought one another, kicking and punching.

"Marinette - go!" Adrien yelled, avoiding an angry punch by kneeing the villain in the stomach.

"I'm not leaving without you!" Marinette shouted, standing up slowly, her eyes trained wearily on Transporter's shiny dagger. Adrien managed to kick the knife out of his red and gray striped hand as the supervillain hovered above him on his knees, only to receive a sudden punch in the face as Transporter dived back down on top of him. Marinette couldn't take the fight any longer.

"Dammit, Marinette! Just leave!" Adrien groaned, continuing to struggle on the floor as he tried to avoid being kneed in the chest.

Marinette suddenly realized she could save him herself by quickly transforming into Ladybug once she got out of there. Being Marinette would only make the situation worse. Spinning on her heel, Marinette bolted away from the fight and hurried towards Nino and Alya, who stood holding each other by the door.

"Hurry and leave!" she shouted, grabbing their arms and pulling them after her as she bolted out the door. Nino swiftly pulled out of her grasp, doubling back into the classroom. "No way, are you crazy? You're just going to leave him in there?"

"Nino, there's no time! You'll only make things worse, we need to call the police!" Marinette shouted, standing in the hall with Alya.

Nino glanced back at his struggling friend inside the classroom, and back to the two girls. As if it was the hardest decision of his life, Nino ran over to them. When they saw him coming after them, Marinette and Alya sprinted down the hallway, Nino close behind.

…

Marinette burst into the bathroom doors, checking quickly to make sure no one was with her before Tikki flew out of her purse. "What about the police?" Tikki asked, floating up to face a frantic Marinette.

"Trust me, I'm sure they've heard from the principal by now," Marinette said heavily, panting. "Nino and Alya will be fine with the others. Tikki, spots on!"

Soon after, Ladybug was in a huge hurry, adrenaline taking over her veins and bloodlines. Worry for Adrien spread throughout her as she realized she was the only one who could save him. The police would never get to the school in time, and besides, what good were they with a villain like this?

 _I'm being stupid,_ Ladybug thought as she dashed out of the bathroom and down the hallway, heading back to her classroom. _Chat Noir will show up any time soon, and I'll have - oh._

Marinette forgot how hard it was to be a superhero and the victim as her civilian form at the exact same time; what was worse was that it was both of them Transporter was after, not just her.

As soon as she approached the large door, Ladybug barged through, kicking the door wide open with her foot. She leapt through the air, grabbing her yoyo and spinning it angrily. She flew through the air above Transporter and Adrien, who were almost oblivious to her presence.

Landing on Chloe's desk, Ladybug threw her yoyo right away, watching it wrap around Transporter's wrist that held the dagger, only inches away from a dazed Adrien's face. Ladybug yanked his arm backwards, Transporter yelling in a startled surprise as he was flung back against the desk.

He was now only meters away from Adrien, who was laying on his back, groaning with some sort of pain. Ladybug's yoyo made its way back to her hand as she clutched it tightly.

"Leave him alone, Transporter!" she yelled, glaring at him as he stood up slowly, rubbing his red head.

"What is it with you?" he snarled, defensively posing a stance with his dagger. "You'd have a lot less problems if you'd just let me kill him!"

"What's the difference? You're going after my miraculous when you're done anyway," Ladybug snapped, eyeing his knife closely.

"You mean Hawkmoths miraculous," Transporter said with a grin, and without a warning, he threw his knife at full speed towards Ladybug.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter: 11

The dagger glinted as it soared through the air, ready to impale Ladybug as her eyes widened.

Ladybug quickly bounced backwards into a back handspring on the desk, the knife just grazing her armored stomach. Landing off the other end of the table, Ladybug ducked as the knife rebounded off the wall and flew back into Transporter's hand.

Ladybug tried tossing her yoyo at the villain again, but before the weapon smacked his face, the Transporter vanished with a twist of his handcuffs. Growling, Ladybug replaced her yoyo and scowled.

 _His superpower is really getting on my nerves,_ she thought scoldingly.

She hurried over to Adrien, getting down on her knees. His eyes were closed shut, but he was fully conscious. Adrien grit his teeth as he clutched his stomach, sweat starting to glisten on his face. Whatever the Transporter did to him, he had put him through some pretty bad pain.

Ladybug's hand lingered over his head, debating her next moves. He moaned again, and she ran a hand through his hair soothingly. _There's no way he doesn't know I'm Marinette by now,_ she thought with a sigh.

"You okay?" she asked softly, caressing his cheek.

Adrien's eyes opened and blinked a few times, bringing Ladybug's image above him into focus. Transporter might not be a match for him while he was a superhero, but while he was Adrien, it was a completely different story.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, starting to sit up. Ladybug helped him lean forward, making sure he wasn't bending at his stomach. "Careful," she said, watching him as he regained his focus.

Adrien looked over at Ladybug, suddenly stunned at how fast Marinette had managed to think quickly and transform. Was she really Marinette?

Or was this whole ordeal causing them to get mixed up, believing they were eachother when they really weren't?

Adrien wanted to believe it was his classmate behind the mask.

Ladybug watched him stare at her, just as confused as he was. Slowly, she extended her hand out to his head again and ran her fingers through the front of his blond hair. They looked at each other, their gazes locked and slightly shy.

Adrien allowed himself to feel sleepy as she stroked his hair, showing her loving affection for him. At that moment, they both realized that they would never tell one another of their knowledge of who they were. Adrien knew Ladybug thought he was Chat Noir, and Ladybug knew Adrien thought she was Marinette.

Secretly, they'd know, they'd always know, but they'd never tell.

Ladybug's hand slid down his cheek, cupping the side of his face for a moment before drifting off. Adrien caught it, grasping her hand before it fell on her thigh.

He wanted her to keep going, to caress his hair and gently touch his face. Yet, a part of him wanted to give her a sign of who he was; to confirm in her mind that he was her partner. Adrien interlocked his fingers with Ladybug's, rubbing the tough material on her hand with his fingers. As if in unison, the pair leaned their heads towards one another, their cheeks lighting up a hot pink. Ladybug and Adrien shut their eyes as they dared to press their lips closer to one another. Ladybug's lips had barely touched his when her eyes suddenly shot open, watching his go wide at the same time.

No.

Something about this wasn't right.

No matter how much Adrien longed to kiss her, he pulled away, just like she did, their parted lips only just grazing one another. They both knew something was wrong, but neither knew what it was. Something about the moment would confirm their identities; make it official. They'd no doubt know for sure who the other was, no matter how sure they had felt before. And yet, there was something else that nagged them about it, but they couldn't quite lay their fingers on it…

"The police are on their - way…" said Alya awkwardly, bursting into the classroom beside Nino.

Ladybug and Adrien jumped, startled by their sudden entrance. Quickly, Ladybug stood up, attempting to avoid any suspicion from Alya and Nino from her former position of leaning over Adrien's lap on the ground.

Alya and Nino walked in slowly, giving each other confused looks. Rubbing his neck, Nino walked over to his friend in concern and kneeled beside him. "You okay, bro?" he asked, helping his friend stand up. Ladybug grabbed her arm and felt her cheeks go pink, watching Adrien rub his head and stand up unsteadily. He glanced over at her, blushing as he used Nino for support.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Adrien said.

Alya seemed to have forgotten the awkward atmosphere between the four of them after seeing Ladybug on the ground with Adrien. She slowly walked towards the superhero, her eyes wide and her mouth hung open. "H-Hey, Ladybug," Alya stammered. "I doubt you remember me, but I'm the one who runs the Ladyblog, your number one fan."

Ladybug smiled at her, by now used to hearing that phrase from a lot of people. She crossed her arms and stood facing Alya. "Sure I remember you, Alya," Ladybug said, watching her friend pull out her phone.

"Oh my gosh, she remembered my _name_!" Alya squealed, hitting record on her camera and lifting the screen to face Ladybug. "Sorry if I'm a little hasty, but do you mind a quick interview?"

Ladybug looked over at Adrien and Nino, realizing Adrien wouldn't be able to transform and help her if they stayed there much longer. "I'd love to, but there's not much time. There's a dangerous villain on the loose and he's after both of your friends," she said.

Alya grinned as she recorded, intrigued at the chance to video Ladybug for her blog again. "And here I am with Ladybug, inside the very school I myself currently attend! Today she just fought off the very recent villain I'm sure you've all heard about. Here's Adrien Agreste, one of the victims along with _my_ very best friend in need of protection -"

Ladybug sighed, having to admire her friend's persistence. Sometimes, in serious situations, Alya never had her priorities in order when it came to filming for the Ladyblog.

" - this villain, by far, is the most famous and feared supervillain throughout Paris right now!" Alya said eagerly, zooming her camera in to get a close up of Ladybug and Adriens faces.

"The police are too late, there's no point of them coming anymore. I need to get Adrien out of here and, uh, find Chat Noir to track down this villain," Ladybug said sternly, walking over to Adrien. "Nino, Alya, where is the rest of the class?"

"They've left the school, so has everyone else," Alya said quickly, cutting Nino off from opening his mouth. "The teacher and principal are discussing in the office, waiting for the police." Ladybug shot Alya a sharp look. "What are you two still doing here, then? You need to leave and get to safety, I'll take care of Adrien."

Nino stepped away next to Alya as Ladybug guided Adrien to the door. "What about Marinette?" Nino asked worriedly. Pausing, Ladybug turned around slowly, trying as best as she could to avoid Alya's intimidating camera.

"Uh, I'll find her, too. She's in danger just as much as Adrien is." With that, Ladybug dashed out of the room with Adrien, leaving an overly excited Alya, still filming, with a more than confused Nino.

…

The situation was getting more worse than it already was. Alya had already posted the video she'd taken only a few hours ago, and the news had shown it on TV, confirming that the Transporter had been to the school to attack Adrien and Marinette. Apparently, after what had occurred at the subways, the new villain was becoming more and more feared, everyone having already heard about him.

Ladybug bit her lip as she watched the television, standing beside Adrien, who was slumped forwards on his white sofa. She'd been in his room before, but it had been a while since she got to admire the spacious mansion.

"The citizens are beginning to panic; will their children be pulled from school every day? Are they in danger from this villain who comes to their school armed? The police are stressed, unsure of how to safely handle the situation without our beloved superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir," said Mrs. Shamak on the screen. The camera faded to show Officer Roger in front of the school, being interviewed by a reporter.

"This is the most tricky super villain I've ever had to deal with," he said annoyedly. "And I daresay the most dangerous."

"Ladybug was shown having left the school before the police showed up, after saving Adrien Agreste from the villain, the so called 'Transporter'," came Mrs. Shamak's voice. "And claiming to be on her way to protect the other victim as well. Who knows how long this will continue for, and who knows what Ladybug and Chat Noir are doing at this -"

Ladybug turned to Adrien as he shut the TV off. He wore an angry expression on his face as he leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. In frustration, he threw the remote across the room, making it fly past the large flat screen and ram into a back window. Grunting loudly, he slammed his head against his hands, shutting his eyes as he grit his teeth.

Startled, Ladybug watched him sigh miserably. A feeling of sympathy for him overtook her, and she sat beside him on the couch. Ladybug put an arm around him and squeezed his shoulder in comfort. "Don't feel bad, Adrien, I promise, you'll -"

"What the hell do you know?" he suddenly snapped feistily, causing her to remove her arm from around him. "What are you going to do, anyways? You can't fix my problems with my father, you won't be able to protect Marinette the way you say you will. Just - stop acting like you care about me, dammit! All you do is tell stupid little lies and hurt people."

Ladybug's eyes grew wide, watching him explode in rage as he glared at her angrily. Her bottom lip trembled as she realized he'd only say those things to her if he was Chat Noir. Only Chat knew of her lies and the way she was able to hurt people. Ladybug blinked her eyes rapidly, not wanting to believe that what he was saying was true.

But it was.

This whole thing was her fault, that's what Adrien was trying to say. She was the one who initially got James akumatized, the one who had lied to Chat Noir twice in one day. She was guilty for plenty of things, and had made wrong decisions while she was Marinette _and_ Ladybug. What Adrien had said was enough, even though her brain could yell at her for hours.

Adrien's rage passed when he saw Ladybug's tears roll over her mask and down her red cheeks. She was staring at the ground, trying her best not to sob and make noise. She ran a shaking hand through her hair, going over reasons in her mind of why she hated herself.

Adrien saw her and realized he never meant to say those things to her. The anger and guilt he meant to direct at himself was taken out on Ladybug by accident. It took everything inside him to prevent himself from bursting into tears like her.

No, she was crying because she was shaming herself, not because of what he'd told her. Adrien couldn't stand watching her suffer like that, couldn't stand the thought that he had initiated her feeling that way. "I-I'm sorry," his voice croaked. Even if it was enough for Ladybug to forgive him, it wasn't enough for him to forgive himself. It never would be. Adrien would hate himself forever for doing what he just did.

She never replied, only nodded her head and hid her face from beneath her bangs. She didn't move, not even when Adrien wrapped his arms around her and leaned her into him.

Finally, Ladybug gave in, leaning her head against his shoulder and hugging her arms around his waist. She shut her eyes, letting herself accept his affection and comfort. She forgave him, but she didn't think he did anything wrong in the first place. Adrien leaned his cheek against the top of her head, taking in the refreshing scent of her hair.

"This will all be over soon," Adrien whispered, rubbing her back gently. "We'll get through this, I promise."

He knew he didn't deserve her, and he didn't deserve to be holding her or doing anything he wanted to do. Ladybug was way too good for him, way too smart and beautiful and perfect. Adrien was still trying to accept and process the fact that she actually loved him, truly and desperately.

Adrien brought his hand down to her face, gently cupping her chin. He lifted her head slowly to look up at him, her eyes tinted red with tears that stained the skin on her cheeks. Smiling warmly, Adrien's thumb brushed along her bottom lip softly.

"You're amazing, Ladybug," he said quietly, his hand tilting her chin to the side.

Adrien shyly kissed her cheek, planting his kiss on her skin for as long as he could.

He wished they were back at the school, alone in the classroom after the Transporter vanished. Adrien wanted her hand to flow through his hair again, to touch his face again as they leaned in for a kiss. Even though it had felt wrong at the moment, he still wanted to kiss her. Adrien knew he didn't deserve it, though; especially after what he'd said to her. He finally pulled away from her, happy when he saw that her expression had been lightened immensely. His heart rate rose when her hand pet the back of his hair, touching the skin of his neck.

"So are you," Ladybug said quietly, trying her best to smile warmly. "And I understand if you're kind of upset about all of this. Don't worry, it's normal." Adrien's smile faded when her hand left his hair and she stood up, making her way to the open window she'd dropped him off at. He stood up quickly, watching her grab her yoyo and turn one last time to look at him.

"I'd kiss your cheek if I wasn't so ugly right now," she remarked coarsely. Adrien sighed when she jumped through the window pane, tossing her yoyo in the air and swinging her way into the city beyond.

Adrien never thought he'd ever feel as horrible as did at the moment. She wasn't ugly, and she never was, not even when she was crying. But it was his fault; he had made her feel that way because he had triggered her tears. Adrien was still staring after her, wishing she'd come back, when a tiny black creature floated through the air by his face.

"That had to be one of the worst scenes I have ever seen," Plagg said, snickering as he bit hungrily into his camembert. Adrien madly turned on his kwami, glaring at him through his green eyes.

"Shut up, you dumbass piece of shit. I'd smash your stupid cheese eating brains out if I didn't need your superpowers, so be grateful," he snapped. Plagg went silent as he slowly began to fly away, almost positive about what would happen next.

"Plagg, claws out."

…

Marinette felt stupid as she walked to the bakery. In her mind, she had made Adrien feel extra worse by crying over nothing, then making him feel the need to comfort her. Ladybug should've been more understanding that he was going through a lot, and it wasn't unusual for someone with that much stress to take it out on the people around them. But there was something else that was bothering her; the way Adrien had treated Ladybug so kindly.

Would he ever do that to Marinette?

Kiss her on the cheek and show more affection?

He knew she was Ladybug, so why not?

 _Why is Ladybug so much better than me, dammit,_ Marinette thought miserably. She felt jealous of her alter ego again. Ladybug wasn't, and never had been, her true and natural side of her. Something about transforming and obtaining new inhumane powers altered her personality while being a superhero. But she could never be like that while she was Marinette; that's why she enjoyed taking breaks from being Ladybug.

"Hey, Mari, are you okay?"

Marinette glanced down at her kwami, who had popped upwards from being confined in the purse. "Yeah, fine, Tikki," she growled. Tikki sighed, worried for her miraculous holder. She knew very well Marinette wasn't fine, but she also knew not to disturb her when she got like this.

The sidewalk and road was empty of any citizens and cars, which was very unusual; this time of day was rush hour. The sun was beginning to lower down the Western side of the sky, but there were still hours before evening. Marinette expected this, and wasn't really in the least bit shocked. The citizens in Paris were known for reacting strangely with fear to akumas that aroused the most concern within the mayor of Paris. With everyone's child back at home from school, and with a dangerous villain on the loose, no one would be on the roads today.

As the bakery came into view, Marinette began to round a corner of a building. Before she could take any more steps, she was suddenly yanked backwards and her view of her house disappeared.

A red and gray striped hand slammed against her mouth, muffling her scream almost immediately. Marinettes eyes flew wide as her muscles tensed, her hands flying to the arm that held onto her mouth tightly. She wriggled her body, trying to slide away from underneath the strong arm.

"Stop moving, and I won't just stab you right here," hissed a quiet voice in her ear. Marinette tensed as she stood still, frightened to death by what might happen next. She gasped into Transporter's hand as she felt his other arm wrap around her stomach, pinning her against him and forbidding any movement in her lower body.

"Don't scream, or I'll knock you out and drag you myself," snarled Transporter. He let go of her mouth slowly, turning her around roughly to face him. Marinette looked at him with fear, watching him angrily grit his teeth and grasp her arms like vice grips. He would kill her, no matter what she did or said.

"Move!" he growled, shoving her in front of him. They walked towards a door in the building, moving farther away from her house. The apartment door was raised up by stone porch steps with a flimsy metal railing. Marinette had no idea where the villain would possibly take her within an apartment room, but she was frightened nonetheless.

He pulled her arm, roughly, forcing her up the porch steps. Transporter quickly flung the door open and shoved Marinette inside, following her and closing it shut.

The apartment was dark; Marinette could hardly see without any lights, but she was in a small hallway that had four doors leading off in the walls. She stumbled inside when she felt Transporters hand grab her arm and yank her down the hallway, headed towards a door with a circular window.

Adrenaline was pumping hard through her blood, her heart rate faster than it had ever been before. She was defenseless against him and completely helpless. Her spirits drained fast as her fear grew of the intimidating villain.

"W-Where are you taking me?" she asked shakily, tripping on the ground as he

busted through the door, into another part of the apartment that was also black with darkness. Marinette couldn't make out where she was in the house or where they were going.

"You'll find out soon enough," Transporter said gleefully, tightening his grip on Marinette's arm.

They passed through another door at the back of the room, and made a sudden right turn into a wide closet. Marinette sniffed the air, finding that the room smelled musty, and she felt the air as being rather humid. Transporter pushed her down on the ground, slamming her onto concrete.

"Umphf," Marinette grunted as she hit the floor. Transporter flipped a switch and the room was suddenly illuminated with bright lights. Shielding her eyes, Marinette sat up and watched angrily as the villain seemed to make sure the heavy door was slightly open.

Looking around, Marinette noticed a tap in the corner of the tiny space, where water was dripping out of and leaving a large, wet, brown spot beneath it. The area had to only be three by three feet, and Marinette was currently sitting in the middle, surrounded by a heap of chains with cuffs at the ends. The chains were attached into the concrete floor, the ends of them stuck within the hard ground.

Marinette sat back in fear as Transporter smiled wickedly at her, kneeling beside her on the ground. Horrified, she watched him grab a metal chain from the floor. She tried to wriggle away when he snatched at her arm.

"No," she said defiantly. "Don't touch me."

Transporter ignored her and succeeded in taking her arm, pulling her forwards. He snapped the cuff onto her wrist, sealing it tight against her skin. The villain revealed a pair of keys from his chain belt and, squeezing her chained wrist tightly, locked the cuff with the key. Marinette gasped as he finally let her hand go, pulling on the chain to test its strength.

"I thought instead of stabbing you to death, which you could possibly survive from, maybe I should do something...where you can't get away," he said, a snicker spreading on his face as he watched Marinette tug at the heavy chains uselessly. Marinette looked up at his frightening face.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Transporter reached over and grabbed her other arm, yanking her wrist forward and this time making her lunge and fall forward on the floor. "That's another surprise," he muttered, snapping the second cuff tightly on her wrist. The Transporter locked the chains with the same key before letting her hand drop back down in her lap.

Marinette stumbled away from him, as quickly as she could. Her back was pressed against the wall as she fumbled with the chains, realizing she couldn't escape the room with them sealed in the floor. Marinette's chest started to rise and fall quickly, breathing unnaturally quick as she began to panic. If his goal was so that she couldn't escape death this time, then his plan would definitely work. She peered up at him in fright, her face starting to glisten with sweat.

Transporter kneeled beside her, delighted by her obvious fear of being chained to cuffs sealed in the floor tight. He grabbed her chin roughly and tilted her face upwards, bringing his head close to hers.

"There's no way you can escape this time," he snarled quietly. "Adrien won't escape, either, and pretty soon I'll have those pesky superheroes miraculous as well. Just remember, you fully deserve this. I hope you and your friend go to hell once you die."

He released his tight grasp on her jaw, standing and walking to the large door. Marinette fought back tears as she rubbed her chin, wishing there was an easy solution and a way out. Transporter shut the heavy door, concealing them in the small closet-like room. It was the first time that Marinette realized the door was completely sealed, no cracks in the bottom or lines surrounding the frame. She whimpered softly as Transporter walked to the tap, twisting the small handle and igniting the rushing water.

His devastating plan suddenly occurred to her; Marinette glanced at the sealed door and the clear water that splashed on the ground and began to spread throughout the small room, and she was completely dumbstruck.

He was planning on drowning her.

Marinette felt her heart beat lower into her stomach, fear and adrenaline pumping through her blood. She quickly stood up off the floor, watching the water flow over her shoes and hit every corner in the room. It would fill up fast in the small concrete closet, and Marinette wouldn't have enough time to devise an escape plan. She glanced up in shock at Transporter as he laughed, enjoying watching her suffer. He crossed his arms and smirked evilly at her.

"I'd love to stay around to watch this, you know," he cooed, running a casual hand through his red hair. "I bet it would be fun, seeing you die. You know, I thought of this creative idea based on what you accused me of doing. I would've done more to contribute to your death, but I couldn't resist this sweet irony."

Marinette pressed her back against the wall, anger and rage stirring up under her skin. He was mocking her fear, laughing at her while she was slowly tormented with water.

"You know, I would've preferred to have killed you with my knife," he continued, twirling his dagger menacingly in his fingers. "But you escaped one too many times for my taste, so now I'll get to save my weapon for Adrien. Don't worry, I'll make sure his last thoughts are of you. Plus, I'll even tell him of how you died. Do you have anything you'd like for me to tell Adrien before I leave and go kill him?"

Marinette grit her teeth, her brow furrowed madly. No matter how wrong it was, she wanted to kill him and ensure his death was painful. "You can tell him I think you're a son of a bitch," she shouted. "And you are _not_ going to lay a _finger_ on him."

Transporter smiled, replacing his knife back in his chain belt. "Aw, how sweet. I'm sure Adrien will be ecstatic to know those were one of your last words," he said.

Marinette scowled and rolled her eyes, glaring at her foe with hate. "Go to hell," she growled.

"From the looks of things, you're going to be off to hell soon. Anyways, hate to leave so abruptly, but I've got to go find pretty boy before he gets protection from those annoying superheroes."

Transporter turned the tap on full speed, and the noise level of water gushing out of a pipe increased. Marinette watched in horror as he grabbed his right wrist.

"This will be the last I'll ever see of you, Marinette. It's kind of a shame, really. You're pretty cute when I scare you half to death," he said, and with that, he flashed her one last white grin before twisting his purple handcuff and disappearing out of the room.

…

It was hardly noon. School had barely started when Transporter broke into the school to hunt down Adrien and Marinette. The sun was hidden behind the mass of clouds in the sky, casting down a gray loom in the air that only added to the city's stress. Chat Noir glanced at the gray masses above, wondering if a storm might pass by.

The gloomy day only added to his personal regret and guilt. Not only had he been a complete jerk to Ladybug, he had been a jerk to Marinette. Marinette _was_ Ladybug, afterall. That thought would never leave him; no matter what she said, no matter what Alya said, no matter what anyone said about the super heroine's identity, Chat Noir would always believe that his classmate was also his partner.

He was also fully positive that Marinette knew of his identity, but he understood that they would never tell each other. They couldn't. From the moment he had decided to kiss Marinette, to the moment he had shown unnecessary affections for Ladybug as Adrien, they had telepathically agreed never to tell of their knowledge. It was there, and they both knew it, but it was meant to be a secret for a reason.

If this akuma had taught them one thing, it was that by revealing their identities, they would be broken.

They'd wreck their relationship and ruin each others hearts. They were hiding a secret from one another that they both knew about, a secret that had been confirmed one too many times.

Chat was sprinting across the rooftops, high above the deserted streets. No one would dare to send their child to school today, or drive on the roads. This villain had managed to instill the biggest fear Chat had ever seen in Paris. Something about his power, something about his desperate wish to murder two teenagers in public had terribly frightened the citizens.

Did Ladybug, crying because of a stupid model, decide to head back to her home and possibly detransform? Was it possible that Adrien had triggered her feelings so deeply that she didn't care about the safety procedures? Chat's best guess was that Transporter would have headed straight for Marinette's bakery.

The tall building that stood directly beside the high school was entering his view as he jumped along the roofs, using his staff only once to propel himself in the air to get to her house faster. Soon, the blond superhero only had the street to cross ahead of him before approaching the bakery.

Chat Noir flipped off of the roof ledge, his eyes trained on the bakery building ahead instead of the sidewalk below. He landed on the concrete hard, slamming his feet down and immediately starting to run onto the road. His anger, his guilt, his rage had distracted him entirely from his surroundings as he bolted down the street towards Marinette's house.

He had only ran a few steps when the butt of a black handle swung out in front of him, going unnoticed from the corners of his eyes. There was a loud groan as Chat fell backwards, his back hitting against the blacktop. A shooting pain spread throughout his head, his eyes shut as he clutched the top of his messy hair.

Unable to stand, Chat peered above him to see a wave of red hair fall around a green skinned face. Transporter grinned, kneeling beside Chat Noir, slightly disappointed when he saw Chat start to roll on the ground in pain, indicating he was still conscious. Chat couldn't think, almost couldn't breathe before he saw a chained wrist bring the knife handle up again, descending the weapon down quickly as it hit the top of his head again, knocking him out.


	12. Chapter 12

**This chapter is full of sad feels. Urgh I wanted to put so much more into this one but it had to go to chapter 13….lol. At least the next chapter will have a lot of action. Anyways, sorry this chapter kinda took a while….I had chapters 1-11 all written out beforehand but I procrastinated on the last three, lol. Oh well. Chapter 13 might take a little while to update, unfortunately.**

 **Enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter: 12

Chat Noir's eyes fluttered open.

He'd been passed out for a while, but it was impossible to tell how long from the dark atmosphere of an unfamiliar room. He was lying on the floor of what seemed like a kitchen, a door to his right and a burning light above his head in the ceiling. He remembered the sudden events that had just occurred as his head began to fill with pain again.

Chat had no idea where he was, but considering the situation it couldn't have been anywhere pleasant. This had to be the worst possible predicament for him, knowing that Transporter had him and was planning on taking his miraculous.

Another thought occurred to him when he realized that his original goal was to make it to Marinette's house; why was Transporter after him? Wasn't his plan to kill Marinette and Adrien before taking his miraculous, along with Ladybug's? His face turned white as Chat forgot completely about the unbearable pain in his brain.

No, he refused to let himself even think of that possibility.

There was no way.

His body was weak and drained of any energy after he hit his head on the handle of Transporter's knife. The only thing Chat could think to do was lay there, staring up at the only light in the rather musty and old-looking apartment.

Chat went stiff when he heard footsteps, approaching him from behind his feet. Soon, an image of a familiar villain appeared in Chats sights above his head, looking up at Transporter with a face full of sorrow and pain. His eyes blinked from the blinding light, trying to concentrate on Transporter's face rather than the yellow flash around his figure.

"That was pretty bad back there, Chat Noir, just saying. I mean, seriously, you really couldn't have avoided me like that? How could you have possibly been so distracted?" Chat felt another surge of pain through his head, groaning while Transporter chuckled menacingly.

"Where's Marinette?" Was all that Chat could manage to utter out of his lips.

Transporter walked around Chat, kneeling beside him next to his stomach, moving conveniently out of the light. Chat was able to lift his head and look at a more clear view of the terrible villain, the light now away from his eyes when he looked at him.

"What makes you so certain I have Marinette?" the villain tested, a sly sneer growing on his eager face. It was obvious to Chat Noir that he was trying to push his patience.

Chat sighed, leaning his head back against the floor and shutting his eyes. He moaned again when the throbbing aches in his head continued. Right now, he knew he wasn't in control over this situation, but when it came to the fate of Marinette, the last thing he wanted was to let a cocky supervillain test him.

"Just tell me where she is," Chat muttered, his rage already starting to show. He rubbed his forehead again, blocking the light from beating down on his eyelids.

"Well, if you're truly concerned, I guess I might as well let you know. It's not like it'll make much of a difference, anyways," Transporter said. Chat lifted his head again, his gaze glaring directly at the villain.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Transporter smirked, having been anticipating Chat's reaction. He crossed his arms as he sat on his knees, smiling evilly and enjoying the situation. It was apparent to Chat Noir that he'd feel no mercy or guilt at having killed two teenagers he wanted revenge on, so whether or not he had hurt Marinette was still to be determined.

Chat was sweating; his heart rate was pumping louder by the second in his chest. His heart was preparing to drop into his stomach and turn his face a deathly pale as he could feel what the next answer from the villain might be.

"I mean," Transporter coaxed, "That I've already taken care of my revenge on Marinette."

The supervillain was trying to torture Chat with the truth. He wasn't outright saying she was dead; but then again, he didn't really know for sure yet. Chat's heart skipped a beat when those words filled his ears. He thought he had been prepared to hear the worst; it wasn't until the words had _actually_ emerged did he realize that he was wrong. Dead wrong.

Chat Noir's eyes began to fog, blurring the images around him. He struggled to fight back tears, but it was to no prevail. He laid his head back against the floor, staring up at the lights that no longer affected his eyes. The greatest fear of his life had been confirmed, and he knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself anymore.

If Ladybug was gone, so was any meaning put into his miserable life. To think that he'd been too late; that he'd failed her, was too much to bear. Chat didn't think he'd ever experience any sort of traumatic feeling like this one in his life, but it happened. He searched and searched through his mind for something, for someone, who could make him feel better, someone who could replace the hole in his empty heart.

No one. Ladybug was his everything.

Ladybug was his missing heart. To think that he never truly had a heart before he had met her was life-draining. She'd stolen it from him, accidentally taking it with her during her death.

 _Death._

Oh, God, did that word sound good to him right now. Death was the only other alternative to his life; and his life was horrible. Meaningless. Empty. Death was the one thing that would reunite him with Ladybug, with Marinette.

Chat Noir found that he couldn't think anymore; his train of all thought had been lost. The pain and grief was too great that he almost passed out again; the thought of losing the one person he'd never want to see leave was way too much. He was guilty; guilty of Ladybug's death, guilty of letting her run off in his room. His tears came rolling down his black eye mask, moving swiftly down his cheeks. The back of his neck and the brim of his forehead was sweating; sweating with the effort of grieving. Chat's sobs grew louder, his whimpering increasing to a level he never experienced before.

Being under Hawkmoths control, Transporter felt no sympathy. He felt no guilt or any hint of sadness. If he was James Cornfield, he might have cried too - he may have felt terrible for drowning Marinette, and terrible for making Chat Noir sob. But this wasn't James Cornfield; this was a murderer. This was a side of him that only resided in the blackest part of his soul. Transporter was a heartless, stone-cold being who was drained of any individual spirit to the point of having no emotions.

"I really had no idea that you cared for her so much," came the cold voice of the villain, a voice that sent true chills down Chat Noir's spine. "Isn't she just a random girl in Paris? You probably save hundreds of those every week. Her death can't be _that_ heart breaking to you."

His voice was above him now, hovering over his head as the villain stood. Chat Noir grit his teeth, the most pure rage he had ever felt in his life boiling at the surface of his skin. "Go to hell, you son of a bitch," he growled.

Chat hated Transporter; he hated him ever since he saw Marinette shrieking in terror from a knife only inches away from her face. This anger was supremely intense, growing stronger by the second. No matter how wrong it was, Chat wished the most painful death on Transporter. He wished he could be the one to kill him, to sink the dagger into his suit and watch him slowly bleed to death.

The memory of touching Marinette's face on her balcony flashed into Chat's mind. It was dark out, and his lips were almost brushing against hers.

" _This guy won't be a threat to you, I promise,"_ he had said, swearing to her that he would never let Transporter hurt her.

" _I know,"_ Marinette had replied, only seconds before Chat leaned in and kissed her again.

The painful memory lingered in his mind, long enough to almost drive him crazy. He had broken his promise without meaning too. At the time, he had been so certain, almost positive, that he would be able to protect her until the end. The fact that he was now crying over her death, dreading that he'd never see her again, only proved his incapability to himself. Ladybug wouldn't want him to cry, she'd want him to be strong; but he wasn't. No matter how much he wished he was, Chat wasn't strong.

"Oh, well. Maybe there's more between you two I don't know about. Not that I want you to tell me or that I really care, but at least I get to watch you suffer," Transporter sneered evilly.

Chat Noir grunted in horrid rage, wanting to leap up and fight Transporter until he killed him, but the pain of Ladybug's death kept him pinned to the floor. He _was_ suffering; slowly being eaten away inside. Suddenly, a purple light flashed against Chat's eyelids when a butterfly mask appeared floating in front of the villain's face.

Transporter walked away from above Chat Noir's head, his face suggesting he was listening intently to Hawkmoth. Chat was given more time to drown in his pain while the evil villain stood off to the side, nodding his head and agreeing silently to his master. The superhero lying on the floor hardly noticed when Transporter turned back around to face him, a white grin spread over his green face.

"Well, Chat Noir, I've succeeded in _half_ of my revenge, which means I now have the chance to repay Hawkmoth _half_ of our deal," the villain cooed, kneeling next to the blond teenager again.

Great. This was when the villain would take his miraculous. Except this time, who was going to stop him? Ladybug? She was dead. Chat Noir? He wasn't strong enough. Chat whimpered as the tears set on his face began to dry, drying like horrible scars that would forever be imprinted on his soul.

Transporter seized Chats wrist quickly, lifting his hand up to his eye level. Chat Noir didn't even put up a fight as Transporter pinched Chats ring between his two fingers. Slowly, menacingly, the horrid villain started to inch the miraculous off of the superhero's ring finger.

The moment was slow, but it was dramatic. Transporter finally yanked the ring off of Chats finger, letting the boys arm fall back down by his side. Chat Noir was horrified, terrified and frightened when a green flash ran up along his body, moving too quickly for him. A black gush of wind came flying from the ring that was clenched in Transporters fist, and a small kwami landed with a thud by the now detransformed superhero.

Adrien Agreste was lying on the floor, looking up at the shocked villain. Transporter gaped down at the blond teenager, stunned with disbelief at the coincidence. Adrien couldn't move; the fact that this moment had finally happened, after all those battles with Ladybug, was too much to handle. It suddenly hit him that not only did the evil villain know his identity, but Hawkmoth did as well.

…

"Tikki?" Marinette shouted for the hundredth time. It was quite useless, really; there was no place in the tiny concrete closet that the red kwami could possibly be hiding. Marinette hadn't even realized she'd dropped her bag while the Transporter had yanked on her arm.

"Help! Someone! Please, help!" she screamed. She had no idea why the villain had taken her to a random apartment in Paris, much less why there were no civilians around the small house. No one would be able to hear her cries, anyway; the rushing water was loud, splashing down hard onto the large pool it had created.

Marinette had been shivering in the cold, skin-piercing water for the past twenty minutes. She had stood up against the wall, unable to sit on the ground anymore. The water had already begun crawling up her thighs as it grew taller in the room. This was just perfect. Adrien was all alone, unprotected. He had no reason to turn into Chat Noir at the moment, which meant Transporter would track him down while he was in his civilian form. Adrien Agreste was in trouble, and Ladybug wouldn't be able to save him.

Marinette felt hot tears roll down her pale cheeks as she began to choke on her own breath. She started to sob uncontrollably, looking down at the chain cuffs clenched on her wrists and thinking about how this whole mess started. Why was it that Marinette was her true self? Marinette was useless, a nobody who wasn't worth anything without her secret identity as Ladybug.

 _I'm nothing,_ she thought, her lip trembling as her hands shook. How could anyone love her? Her parents, her friends, Chat Noir? After all that she's done? Without her mask and costume, she was worthless.

Marinette scowled at herself for her stupid, undying love for a famous model who hardly took any notice of her. Surely, she couldn't have _actually_ thought that _he_ could ever fall for _her_? Yet he did, but it was just her luck that he loved her only when she could save the world. Only when she was someone with inhumane superpowers, someone who was strong and self-confident. Was it really love, then? Adrien had fallen for someone who didn't even exist, a side of Marinette that she never considered to even _be_ her.

Chat Noir had proved to her that he was in love with her true side, but was that just Adrien's way of showing he knew who Ladybugs true identity was? That the only way he could be close to a girl that didn't exist was to act like he loved who she really was, a useless nobody? Marinette was planted firmly on her feet, drowning herself in her sorrow that would soon turn to water and kill her.

Chat Noir would die soon, too, because of her. She reminded herself she'd be the death of not only Chat Noir, but Adrien as well. Because of Marinette, not Ladybug. She found herself caring for Adrien's death, for Chat's death, even though he never actually loved her. Marinette still cared for him because she no longer worried over which side of him she liked better; it didn't matter anymore. Marinette was going to die. With her, she'd be killing off Ladybug, too, the side that the world loved, the side that everyone would mourn to see leave.

 _All Marinette does is create disaster, anyways. Why should I care if she dies?_

The water had risen to her waist line, and was beginning to slowly rise up her stomach. Her jeans were completely submerged underwater, stuck tight against her skin. Marinette's tears still dripped out of her eyes, falling down onto the rising pool of water and only adding to the large mass. Her hands were shaking in the shackles, shaking with fear and dread. Marinette hadn't had enough time to mentally prepare for her death with her thoughts lingering on her hate for herself.

The water inched upwards more, seeming to grow faster. Marinette realized how easily she could've already been out of there if Tikki had been with her. But then again, she wasn't so sure she deserved to leave. So many things were wrong with her, so many people were hurt and damaged because of her.

First was James, who was wrongly accused of murder. She had called the police on him without proof, and that only led to him being akumatized. He was currently the most evil, the blackest, the darkest part of his soul that he could ever be, because of her.

Next was Alya, who had taken Marinette's own pain down on herself in order to cheer her up. That just proved to Marinette how broken and fragmented their relationship was, because of her lousy efforts to keep it strong. Marinette had failed as a friend, and Alya definitely didn't deserve someone like her.

Finally was Adrien. What Marinette had done to him throughout the past two days went without saying. Now, all that she did to screw up the mess all led to his death; to her death. They would both die, and the confusion over who loved who would never matter. Ever.

The tingling water had drifted up, starting to curve over Marinette's breasts. Her entire torso was now submerged, and the next time it came out of the water, she would not be alive. Marinette began to go into a panic; the real situation hadn't truly sunk in and hit her until it was only moments away from happening. Before she knew it, the water was piercing against her neck. Her thoughts were suddenly lost and her focus was concentrated on the rapidly rising water.

Tears fell instinctively out of her eyes as she grit her teeth, her eyes squeezed shut as the water climbed over her chin. Marinette leaned her head backwards in order to conserve as much air as she could. Her hair was submerged when she gasped and drew in her last breath. The water continued to fill up the rest of the room, but the top of Marinette's head was completely underwater.

She wasn't sure how to end her last thoughts; who to think about, what to think about, what to do in general. Her black hair floated around her head in the cold water, brushing against her face. Her cheeks were filled with air, and her feet started to drift off the ground and rise. The chains kept her in one place and ensured that she didn't float to the top of the closet. Marinette couldn't see anything with the blurriness of the dark water. She never thought that Ladybug, a cherished and loved superhero, would ever go down this way.

Her head began to ache; her nose started to sting. Marinette's entire body found that it couldn't move on its own anymore as it began to shut down. This was it; she was no longer able to maintain her oxygen. Marinette squinted through the dark water and watched as two large air bubbles floated to the surface. Soon, her vision began to fade away from her as eyes as they were forced to close. She couldn't think anymore as her entire body shut off from the world, trying at any last attempts to keep her mind alive. In only a matter of minutes, Marinette was unaware of anything, unconscious and barely alive. Her heartbeat slowed, and it wouldn't be long before her pulse came to a complete stop.

Only then would Ladybug be truly gone.

Only then would Marinette Dupain-Cheng be dead.

…

"What were the chances..." Transporter asked slowly, his eyes trained in wide shock at the blond boy lying on the floor, "... that Adrien Agreste would turn out to be the famous superhero Chat Noir?" Adrien bit his lip and swallowed, trying not to let out a loud sob.

Transporter was still kneeling beside his head, trying to comprehend and make sense of the situation. Running a quick hand through his hair, the villain tightened his grip on Adrien's ring and stood up. Adrien sighed when Transporter smirked at him, having obviously accepted the new turn of events.

"Oh, well. I guess this just works out, right? Well, for me...not so much for you."

Adrien groaned and scowled, his hate and disgust returning to him. This son of a bitch had killed Marinette _and_ taken his miraculous. How much worse could it get? How much more trouble could Adrien have possibly gotten into? Transporter snickered evilly, emitting a throaty laugh from the back of his throat. "This makes little sense, I suppose; your appearance on the train, Chat Noir's deep affections for Marinette...now that I think of it, how much more obvious could you have made it?"

"Obviously not enough for _you_ to have figured it out," Adrien spat, his voice choking. Transporter only grinned menacingly. "This situation must really suck for you, Adrien; you had to dress up as a superhero and pretend to save yourself, not to mention your girlfriend as well, without being caught. Oh, well, at least you had that bug girl to help you. Now, it doesn't matter, it will never matter, because Hawkmoth knows your identity and you can't change that," the villain said mockingly.

"Go to hell," was all that Adrien managed to mutter back at him. A thought seemed to appear in Transporter's mind as he looked back down at Adrien with a grin. "That reminds me, your girlfriend had some last words for you to hear before she was left to die. I promised her that your last thoughts would be of her," he said.

Adrien choked, crying, sobbing silently, his emotions too complex to even begin to comprehend. His rage was so high that all he could do was grit his teeth and avoid Transporter's cold gray eyes.

"Marinette wanted me to tell you that she thinks I'm a son of a bitch," he said, his expression somewhat normal and calm. "And that she didn't want me to lay a finger on you. Sweet, isn't it? If I was in your spot, I wouldn't feel too bad about those words."

"I don't," Adrien growled. "Because you _are_ a son of a bitch and I'm glad Marinette knew that."

Transporter positioned the cat ring on his chain belt, pinching it between his skin-tight suit and the metal. "Just so we're all clear, you and that brat fully deserve this," he snapped at Adrien angrily. "You put yourselves in this situation. And none of that was my fault."

His words were barely able to sink into Adrien's mind when a glowing butterfly mask floated in front of Transporter's furrowed face. His eyes went wide as Hawkmoth began to talk to him, and he turned and walked away from Adrien, standing over by his feet. "Yes, Hawkmoth," the villain muttered. His low voice sounded distant in Adrien's ears. Soon,Transporter was immersed in his urgent conversation.

Usually at this point, Hawkmoth would make the villain use him as bait for Ladybug. Tears proceeded to stain his face when he was remembered that Ladybug would never show up. Transporter might have been able to handle the fact that Adrien was Chat, but he'd certainly never accept that the same girl he was after was also Ladybug's identity. Adrien's whimpers were soft, his thought of pain and sadness only growing and consuming his mind. He was staring at the ceiling, his hand clenched in his hair, when the black kwami that had been immersed in the white cat ring suddenly flew up in front of him, looking down at the suffering teenager.

"Hey, kid, you alright?" Plagg croaked. He knew it wouldn't make a difference, and any sane person would already know the answer to that question.

Adrien's eyes trained past the black cat, completely ignoring that his kwami was trying to gain his attention. "Look, it's a lot to handle, but technically you don't know for certain that Marinette is Ladybug."

Adrien blinked only once, his eyelashes soaked and his cheeks damp. Nothing anyone would say, whether it was his father, his kwami, or Nino, could possibly make him feel better. Anything that could make him forgive himself. It was an impossible deed; and he wasn't about to waste his time talking to his kwami about it. Plagg, however, was persistent; it was his job as the one who instilled the miraculous with powers to keep the holder well enough to defeat evil. Besides, Hawkmoth had possession of the ring; that was something Plagg was definitely not allowed to have happen.

"I know you cared a lot about Marinette, but she wouldn't want to see you like this. Adrien, come on," Plagg said, insisting. He only scowled when Adrien continued to stare up at the wall, his mind obviously on a shut down. "Hawkmoth has your miraculous, a damn _villain_ , of all people, knows your identity, and you're just going to lay there like an idiot?"

No response.

"Kid, come on, like I said, you're lucky I put up with your crap. This isn't okay; I can't just sit around and watch this happen."

A blink and a quick stare.

"Look, if you're going to lay there for the rest of your life, mourning over the death of Marinette, then you just made her death _vain_. _Meaningless_. Adrien, you need to man up and stop your sulking."

Slowly, Adrien turned his head to look at the kwami. Plagg was more than annoyed; he was frustrated, and he needed Adrien if he was ever going to give Chat Noir super powers ever again. "I can't," Adrien said coarsely. He could hear the Transporter in a low conversation with Hawkmoth, discussing hell knows what. "I'm not strong enough."

When Plagg heard Adrien say that, the kwami lost it. "Adrien, I don't usually get like this, but _what the hell_?! Have you lost your whole damn mind? It's our top priority right now to get that miraculous back, because you don't want to know what happens if Hawkmoth gets it! You can't just let everyone down, Paris, your mother, Ladybug, Marinette just because you're sad! Don't even try to pull that 'I'm not strong enough' shit on me, kid, because it won't work. You're the strongest Chat Noir I've been given to work with. You're more capable than most superheroes in the past, so don't even start with that. The last thing Ladybug, the love of your life, would want to see is you acting like this. So pull yourself together and fight this son of a bitch."

Adrien had never truly heard Plagg get like that. He only sighed miserably at the kwami, staring at the ceiling. Plagg raised his eyebrows when he noticed that Adrien hadn't bothered to move. He frowned madly and turned on the blond boy with rage.

"Fine. _Don't_ surprise me. But if I'm seen, which is not allowed by the way, you only have yourself to blame."

Those words seemed to be enough to make Adrien move. Plagg began to fly away from him, mumbling complaints to himself again as he floated to where the Transporter was standing, his back turned to them. Adrien lifted his head, shielding his eyes from the bright light. "Plagg, no, wait!" he whispered frantically, but it was too late. Adrien sighed when his kwami got lost in the blinding light of his vision, and he laid his head back down against the floor with a small whimper.

Adrien couldn't believe Plagg; he couldn't believe that his kwami had been so insensitive to his suffering. It was either that, or Adrien was a complete wimp who couldn't fend properly for himself in these types of situations. It had only been seconds, which felt like hours to the poor blond boy, when Plagg returned.

When Adrien caught a glimpse of his black tail, his head shot up again to look at him. Squinting his eyes, Adrien scowled at his kwami. "What is your problem, Plagg? What did you just do?" The very annoyed Plagg groaned with a sigh, his frustration obvious upon his face, when he revealed to Adrien a white ring. Adrien's eyes immediately widened when he saw that ring; it was white and had the Chat Noir symbol engraved at the top. It was the ring that had changed his life. The ring that gave him his freedom.

Eyes still wide, Adrien turned to Plagg, who looked at him with a slight smirk. He shook his head in disbelief, reaching out his hand to grasp the small metal. Did his kwami seriously just retrieve his miraculous for him? Did the Transporter not notice? Adrien glanced at the villain, who was only about two meters away from the bottom of his feet, still turned around and talking to Hawkmoth. "Plagg," he muttered, turning his ring over in his hand. "How - how did you -" The kwami sighed and crossed his tiny arms.

"Very simple, actually. I'm a kwami, remember? I can go through metal, easy. I just pulled it out of his chain belt," Plagg shrugged. Adrien gaped in astonishment.

"But - he didn't notice?!"

Plagg scowled, shaking his head. "Adrien, were you not watching the whole time? And shut up, Transporter is literally standing right behind you," the black cat warned. "How do you expect me to see in this light?" Adrien snapped quietly.

Adrien instinctively slipped the ring back onto his finger. When he realized the meaning behind his action, Adrien bit his lip and looked at the jewel. Debating with overwhelming sadness was hard. He slowly pinched the ring again, unsure if he should take it off or leave it on. He had failed the closest person to him, so what would he be fighting for by being Chat Noir? But then again, he was forced to remember the time in which he had first received the magical stone, and his his life had spun around for the better ever since then.

Plagg noticed the dilemma and the look upon Adrien's face. The kwami gasped and quickly flew in front of the ring, blocking Adrien's view of his hand. "Don't you even think about it," Plagg hissed quietly, pushing Adrien's lingering fingers away from the ring. "You are not taking that off. Paris needs you," he argued. Adrien sighed and looked at the floor, his body propped against his elbow sideways.

"Ladybug needs me, Plagg," he mumbled in despair, fresh tears brimming on the surface of his green eyes. " _Marinette_ needs me. What makes you think I can help Paris if I wasn't even strong enough to protect the one person I truly care about?"

Plagg and Adrien stared into one another's eyes for a long time. It was a green cat glow against a deep shade of emerald, a look of content versus an expression full of sadness. When Adrien's kwami broke the silence, he had a change of heart. A new outlook. Maybe, just maybe, he would be the one to care and protect Paris. Maybe, he could be the one to pass on the legend of Ladybug, to keep her well known and forever cherished. To let the public know that he loved her with all his heart.

Plagg took a deep intake of breath before he spoke. "Adrien, you are the chosen one. You weren't picked to fail; you were picked because no one, not Nino, not your father, not anyone else but you could survive the burden. No one else could survive the fighting and battles, the decision making and the heartbreak. No one said this job would be easy, but it's necessary and essential for the survival of your hometown. Ladybug knew that; she knew the cost. If you want to avenge her, then you first need to pick yourself up, no matter how hard you've fallen. And if you aren't able to do that, then certainly no one else in Paris can. So please, Chat Noir, defeat him and defeat Hawkmoth, and there won't be anything to be worried about. Don't let Ladybug be the reason you fall, because she wouldn't want that; make her be the reason you stood back up and kept fighting."

To think those words came from Plagg's mouth was astounding, which was proof that the black cat truly meant it toward his miraculous holder. Adrien was dumbstruck; lost for words. He surprised himself when he kept his ring on, furrowed his brow, nodding his head in understanding. A picture of Ladybug went through his mind, and it gave him strength. If there was one thing he knew, it was his mission; to defeat Transporter and destroy the akuma.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter:13

Marinette hadn't realized she was passed out when she woke up, unsure of how much time had gone by. The small closet was completely damp from having been filled to the brim with water, and there was no longer a bright light emitting from the ceiling.

Marinette fought for air on the ground, her limbs shaking. Her wrists were badly bruised from the tight chains that were no longer holding her in place. She coughed uncontrollably, gasping for air to fill in her lungs. Her clothes and hair were soaked, and she shivered from her cold body.

Marinette rasped as she panted and wheezed, her throat and chest aching in pain. Her body curled in a tight ball, shaking as her skin touched the wet floor of the room. She was helpless to fight back or resist as a pair of quavering arms grasped her shoulders and propped her upright, holding her upper body in their lap.

Blinking rapidly, Marinette gulped as she opened her stinging eyes to look up. She nearly choked when she saw her savior.

Above her, disheveled with knotted and messy hair, was the face of her best friend.

Alya cradled Marinette in her lap, tears dripping down her cheeks. "Oh my God, Marinette," she whispered, sobbing.

Marinette continued coughing, but she hardly noticed the throbbing ache in her chest; she was much too shocked, too stunned, and her throat was dry to the bone. Alya? What was she doing here? The girl's mouth opened and closed, crying as she was lost for words. Marinette's expression softened, her eyes watering and a wide smile spreading across her face when the full situation finally took its effect on her. She continued to watch as Alya struggled to manage words, but she didn't care; Marinette didn't need her friend to say anything.

She realized that it was fate that brought her best friend to her rescue; this was the world's way of letting her know that she was worth something. That she _was_ cared and loved for, that she _was_ just as special as Ladybug. The world was giving her a second chance by bringing Alya to her rescue. Marinette still had a purpose to fulfill, whatever that was; but she wasn't a nobody, just a plain nothing. She was a somebody who was the only one strong enough to save the day.

Without Marinette, _Ladybug_ was a nobody. Marinette was beautiful, powerful, loved, strong, amazing. If anything, she was better than Ladybug. It had taken her forever to finally realize that, but now that destiny had brought her best friend to her, Marinette felt invincible. She no longer cared what anyone else said or thought about her.

She must have looked like a complete wreck, but her heart had never felt more free and open. Despite the weight of the water drenched in her clothes weighing her down, Marinette sat up quickly and threw her arms around a startled Alya. Her sobs were fresh in Marinette's ears as she hugged her back tightly. A soft laugh of joy emitted from Marinette's throat, tears of sadness and happiness spilling down her cheeks.

"Thank you," she whispered, digging her damp face into her friend's soft brown hair. Alya continued to sob, shivering against Marinette's cold and wet clothes. She took a shaky breath, gritting her teeth as she tried to contain herself.

"I'd do anything for you, girl."

They pulled apart, Alya still holding Marinette in her lap, exchanging warm smiles. "I-I found this outside the door…." she croaked sadly, letting go of Marinette for a second. Marinette's blue eyes widened when she saw Alya take a purse off of her shoulder, revealing the pink bag from behind her back. Marinette took it from her, her gratitude and thankfulness radiating from her eyes. Maybe - just maybe, their friendship wasn't in complete ruins because of her.

"Thank you so much, Alya. For everything. For being there for me, for staying by my side, for being my best friend. I mean, we both know I could never survive without you -" Alya gaped at Marinette as she produced fresh tears that stained her already soaking skin, laughing lightly with a sad croak in her voice, " - plus, who else is going to put up with my crazy shit? I'm lucky you didn't leave me right off the bat!" Marinette began to bawl, sobbing loudly as Alya hugged her close.

"Aw, Mari," Alya murmured, feeling sad as her best friend continued to cry uncontrollably. Marinette pulled out of her grasp quickly, smearing her tears all over her face with the back of her wet hand.

"I'm sorry," Marinette said quietly, giggling softly. "I just can't get over how lucky I am to have you as my best friend."

All Alya was able to do was gaze into her friend's eyes, feeling grateful and sympathetic for her friend. Their fragmented relationship had never truly taken its effect on her; she had always been ignorant when it came to those situations, which was fortunate for Marinette.

To Alya, she was just as lucky to have someone like Marinette as she was to have her. Marinette was unique and special, and that's what she loved about her; Marinette's clumsiness, her awkward social life and her strong nature. She was kind, and believed in what was right. What else did Alya need for in a best friend?

"And I'm lucky to have you," Alya said softly, her warm smile penetrating through Marinette's eyes. "I couldn't survive without you either, girl. Oh, God, you scared me half to death. Do you realize what you would've put me through if I had got here too late? I wouldn't be able to live with myself, Marinette. Don't ever put yourself in a dangerous situation ever again, do you hear me?"

Marinette smiled, her white teeth flashing. No matter what happened, their friendship would never die. They were, by fate, meant to be together. Nothing could separate them or pull their relationship apart; their bond was unbreakable.

Both girls jumped when a buzzing noise interrupted their silence.

Alya reached into her back pocket, her jeans soaking from the five or so inches of water filling across the room. Marinette glanced quickly over Alya's shoulder to see that the water was raised at least half a foot even outside of the confined closet.

Alya produced her phone, which was streaked with foggy lines from the cold water. She gasped when she turned it on, the dim light radiating onto the surface of her glasses. "Shit…" she whispered, quickly replacing the object in her jean pockets. "It's my mom. Mari, we need to leave, now. We can't risk that freak finding you again." Marinette bit her lip; this was a predicament. Adrien was going to be, if not already, captured by the Transporter and most likely be used as bait for Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"Alya, you go, I'm going to stay behind. I'll be fast, I promise," she said quickly, rising to her feet in a hurry. Alya was quick to catch her by the shoulder, pulling on her jacket to make her turn back around. "Whoah, no you don't girl," Alya snapped, standing up swiftly. Marinette stirred impatiently, unsure of what excuse to use. "Where do you think you're going?"

Marinette turned pink, the tips of her ears and nose already rosy from the cold. "I-I'm going back for Chat Noir. I'm positive he's in danger, but I promise I'll get out as fast as I can."

"Chat Noir?!" Alya exclaimed, stopping her best friend before she could dash out the door. "Why the hell do you need to go back for Chat Noir?" Marinette went pale when she saw Alya's shocked and confused look upon her face, and she quickly realized her mistake.

"Ch-Chat Noir? D-Did I say Chat Noir?" Marinette stammered awkwardly, rubbing the back of her damp neck. "I-I meant Adrien….yeah, Adrien."

Marinette mentally scowled at herself; she didn't have time to be dealing with the whole conflict over identities, no matter how certain she was in her mind that Chat was Adrien.

Shaking her head, Marinette snapped herself back to the current situation. "He's in trouble right now, and I'm not leaving this place without him," she said solemnly, placing a hand gently on Alya's shoulder.

"Mari, it's way too dangerous for you. If he finds you again, who knows what will happen. Ladybug and Chat Noir will protect Adrien, I promise. We need to go!"

"Alya, no, please listen to me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if Adrien got hurt. I'll be safe, I promise! Nothing will happen to me. Ladybug will show up and everything will be fine. But please; just let me find him," Marinette replied, her determined and desperate blue eyes blazing into her best friend's.

After a few moments of silence, Alya sighed softly. Sometimes, Marinette was the last thing from being rational, but she also knew there was no stopping her best friend. Once Marinette was content on her goals, close to nothing would be able to stop her, especially when she had a specific motivation. If it was Adrien Agreste's safety on the line from a psycho villain, then Alya knew Marinette's mission would be unstoppable. Not even her closest friend would be able to change her mind.

"Okay," Alya said quietly, nodding. Marinette pulled her into one last tight hug before flashing her a warm smile and heading towards the door. "I'll be safe, I promise," she said contently.

Tears rolled down Alya's cheeks as she sadly watched Marinette bolt out the door and turn the corner.

…

The super heroine bit her lip as she crouched by the stone steps, gazing out at the city before her. This was it; this was the door to the apartment that held Adrien and Transporter. If she walked inside, she'd enter a dark hallway that led to the kitchen door. There was no doubt that she'd encounter Adrien and Transporter inside of the apartment. Taking a shaky breath, Marinette turned to look at the floating kwami by her head.

"I'm scared," she murmured quietly, squeezing her arms around herself.

Tikki sighed, patting Marinette's damp cheek in comfort. "I know," she said sympathetically. "And I'm so sorry I couldn't help you. I had no idea that you were almost about to drown."

Marinette laughed lightly, squeezing the remaining water from the ends of her pitch black hair. "I'm sorry I dropped the bag, Tikki. Thank God Alya was there...ugh, that stupid, crazy girl."

She grazed the bottom of her earlobes with her fingers, touching her cold miraculous. She was scared, yes, but her heart had never felt more free. She was confident, proud, full of self esteem, and for once, she felt like Ladybug. No, she felt _better_ than Ladybug. Marinette was invincible, unstoppable; all because Alya had been brought to her by fate.

With Marinette's friendship with Alya and her intense love for Adrien, she was strong and motivated enough to take down Transporter, with or without her mask. Well, that wasn't true; Marinette was no match against Transporter, but she certainly felt like she could defeat him.

She stood up, her chin raised confidently, her fists clenched tight by her sides. Marinette smirked at Tikki as she flew up in front of her. "Speaking of stupid and crazy people, I need to save Adrien Agreste," she said.

Tikki flashed her one last look of concern. "Are you sure you're ready? Are you feeling strong enough?"

Marinette's brow furrowed, her lips curling into a wide smile. "It's now or never, Tikki."

…

"She'll show up for him soon, Hawkmoth, I promise." The purple butterfly mask disappeared, leaving Transporter's evil green smirk resting on his face.

Adrien flashed his black kwami a worried look, gritting his teeth. He had tried to stand up only seconds before Transporter had finished talking to Hawkmoth, and now he didn't have enough time to sneak out. Leaning backwards on his hands with his knees pointed in the air, Adrien cursed under his breath. Transporter turned around, looking down at Adrien's suspicious position on the floor.

 _Shit,_ he thought, _I'll have to wait until my next chance._

Transporter crossed his arms, hovering menacingly above the blond teenager. "Well, _Chat_ _Noir,_ unfortunately for you, Ladybug seems to be the only one able to come to your rescue, considering _your_ situation. And unfortunately for Ladybug, she won't be alive much longer, which will only lead to your death."

Adrien growled. He didn't want to be reminded of Ladybug, especially if she would never show up. That dumbass Transporter was stupid enough to kill Marinette and then expect Ladybug to show up as part of his plan. But then Adrien was faced with the problem of when he'd be able to sneak away and transform if Transporter didn't have the distraction he was expecting to deal with.

"I wouldn't be so certain of what's going to happen if I were you," Adrien snarled. He shifted backwards, inching himself away from the villain. Transporter snickered, scratching the side of his head. "You've certainly got over that brat's death, haven't -"

Their heads whipped around, jumping at the sudden crash. The door went flying open, a feminine yell erupting from the angry person jumping through the doorway. The swoosh of a string attached to the ball of a yoyo flew into the room, twirling around into a wide, fast circle.

Ladybug received wild stares as she landed swiftly on her feet, glancing at the scene in front of her. Her eyes widened when her gaze found Adrien, his cheeks streaked with old tears and his hair disheveled. His position suggested that he was trying to get up, but he was now frozen as he gazed in disbelief at the girl in front of him.

Ladybug didn't think that she had ever felt more alive than at this moment. If there was ever a time to take down Transporter, it was now. He was standing, a few feet in front of Adrien, with a shocked face that quickly turned to fury.

"Adrien, get out, now!" she screamed, her frown penetrating deeply into Transporter. The blond teen scrambled off the floor, hurrying in order to scurry away.

The villain snarled and produced his knife, but Ladybug's yoyo was wrapped around his wrist seconds before he was able to chuck it at Adrien's head. The yoyo string stopped Transporter long enough for Adrien to stumble dazedly out the door, his eyes looking once more in astonishment at Ladybug.

The door shut closed, leaving just the superhero and the super villain. Ladybug wished for Adrien to hurry and transform so that he could join her as her partner. She was alive and feeling great, but her anger wouldn't be enough to take Transporter down on her own; in order to stop this akuma, her teammate was essential.

The yoyo unraveled itself from around Transporters wrist, flying back to Ladybug's clenched hand. Transporter grit his teeth, outraged that Adrien had gotten away again. His finger trailed to his chain belt, groping around for an object he thought was still in his possession. His other hand held his deadly dagger, poised and ready to kill his opponent.

"That's so _you_ , Ladybug, isn't it? Showing up at the last second to save the helpless victim from his death? I was _just_ about to kill him when you - what the hell?" Ladybug raised her eyebrows in confusion when he turned to look down at his belt, searching for something he obviously thought he had.

"I swear to God, I had that thing. How the hell could it have -" Ladybug wasn't about to waste time talking. She swung her weapon low at his feet, sweeping him off the ground. She was intent on capturing the akuma once and for all, and there was no way she was letting him get away this time.

"Sorry to interrupt your search for whatever the hell you're looking for, but I think it's about time that we put an end to this fight, don't you think?" Ladybug reattached the yoyo to her side, squeezing her fists angrily as the green-skinned villain quickly regained himself off the floor.

"Our fight? Yes, I'd love to put a stop to it. It'll end with your earrings in my possession," he snarled, and bolted towards the prepared superhero.

Transporter had his dagger clenched tight in his fist as he swung it towards Ladybug's head. She ducked down, spinning around and swinging her leg out, but he jumped backwards to avoid her side kick. Ladybug tried to stand up, but she wobbled on one leg and struggled to maintain her balance.

Taking advantage, Transporter shot a punch at her face. His fist impacted against her jaw, shoving her backwards on the floor. Ladybug grunted in pain as she slid on her knees, her hand tracing over the now bleeding cut across her cheek.

Her eyes widened when she saw the glint of a knife being thrown at her, flying through the air and aimed at her head. Ladybug quickly sprang backwards into a back handspring, just barely being grazed by the sharp blade. The dagger crashed on the floor with a thud, landing in between the opponents.

Swiftly, Ladybug tossed her yoyo at Transporter, the string wrapping around his body. She yanked angrily on the rope, flinging him to the back of the room and causing him to collide on the ground by the dinner table.

Transporter writhed angrily in the tight string, trying to free his brown boots and arms that were stuck by his sides. Ladybug dashed towards the fallen villain, tightening her grip on her yoyo. Just as she was about to get on top of him and trap him down for good, his feet flew up and dug into her stomach.

His tied legs flipped her body over his head, and Ladybug yelled as she crashed down on the floor beyond his head. Groaning, Ladybug looked up dazedly on her stomach to spot a frantic Transporter wriggling free from his constraints.

The yoyo lay coiled on the floor as the Transporter snatched his knife from the ground. Ladybug didn't know why she was so drained of energy today, but she felt exhausted and worn out as she panted, tugging on the string and making the yoyo come up to her clenched fist. Breathing hard, she grit her teeth angrily as she looked up from under the mop of her sweaty black bangs, glaring at the grinning villain that turned to face her.

She slowly rose to her feet, her brow furrowed madly. She had zero intention of letting the psycho believe he had dominance over her in the fight. Simultaneously, the opponents charged at one another, glaring with hate into each other's eyes. The fight had turned to hand to hand combat, their weapons resting against their hips.

Swiftly, the enemies dodged punches, threw kicks and slashed their hands madly towards each other. Ladybug received a fair amount of blows to her shins and forearms, but she managed to knee him several times in the stomach. The fighting was intense as they snarled, growling and grunting in pain and anger. Heat arose in Ladybug's cheeks as her heart rate increased dramatically and adrenaline pumped through her blood.

As the battle ensued, Ladybug started to become completely exhausted. She was slow to duck under a kick to her face, but swept Transporter's other leg off the ground in her low crouch. He fell with a startled yelp, his back slamming on the floor. Ladybug flung herself on top of him, wrestling to pin him down for good. Her hands slipped as she wrestled him, trying to grab his arms and pin them down. She wasn't quick enough to stop him when his hands twisted out of her lousy hold.

Taking advantage, the villain quickly beat her hands away and seized her arms tightly. His legs slipped out from under the pressure of her knees, and they continued to wrestle and fight as he lifted off the ground and began to roll over. Ladybug grunted when he flipped them over on the floor and switched their positions, hitting her head hard on the concrete. She was helpless to fight back as her arms were squeezed in his deadly grasp, the weight of her captor draping over her defenseless body.

 _Shit,_ her mind screamed.

Her legs kicked from underneath him, but she wasn't strong enough. Transporter's hands were brought up to her neck, his fingers groping around her throat. Ladybug grit her teeth, her hands flying up to his forearms, attempting to pull them off. She gasped when he began to press his thumbs into the base of her throat, squeezing her neck hard.

Her body continued to wriggle as Transporter choked her. Sweat glistened on her face, mingling with the dripping blood from the cut on her cheek. Ladybug was desperate; her situation was worse than ever. There was no way Alya could save her this time, and she understood if Adrien didn't show up. With all that Ladybug and Marinette had done to hurt him, she knew there was no way he'd want to help her capture the akuma. She desperately needed him, yes, but his safety was also on the line if he decided to show up.

Ladybug's breath left rapidly from her chest, her nose and eyes starting to sting. Her throat was in grave pain, and her staggered breathing was wheezy and short. She continued to gasp, his strong hands unmovable. Her body was losing its strength, and her desperate wriggles were brought to an end. She couldn't keep her focus, couldn't keep her mind straight as she was slowly choked to death.

Transporter grinned wickedly, watching her die beneath him. Ladybug groaned in pain as the weight of the villain dawned heavily on her body, her hold on his wrists weakening. The villain's delight only grew when he felt her body slacken beneath him, her hands starting to slip off of his arms.

That was the second time that day Ladybug had almost died by being deprived of air, and the second time she had been surprisingly saved.

After what felt like hours of enduring Transporter's choking, he was suddenly thrown off of her by an unidentifiable force. All she could comprehend was the sound of a loud scream and a crash, followed by a low snarl. Someone cried out in pain as a loud smack filled the air.

Her eyes were shut, trying to squeeze away the stinging feeling in her nose and eyes. Ladybug's throat felt relieved as it expanded, allowing oxygen to enter her lungs. The pain was great and it hurt like hell every time she breathed, but at least Transporter's hands were off her neck. She started to gag and cough raspily on the floor, her chest rising off the ground.

Ladybug slowly blinked her eyes open, frowning as her vision was brought back into focus. Her unstoppable coughing fit started to decrease as two arms gently lifted her from the ground, wrapping around her back and cradling her on their lap. Ladybug shook her head slightly to shake away the pain in her nose and throat as a hand was placed on the back of her head.

She was proceeded to be lifted from the floor, being pressed against her savior's chest as he stood her on her feet. Ladybug wobbled slightly, her knees feeling weak. The person who rescued her backed away, holding onto her arms to steady her. Ladybug's eyes finally trailed upwards to look into the face of Chat Noir.

"Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes," she mumbled, more to herself than to him. She suddenly scowled, realizing that she wouldn't be able to keep him away from danger since he showed up.

He had come. Of course that dumbass had come.

Chat Noir was serious, his face almost deadly as he looked at her in concern. He had a deep knife slash on his forehead and lower lip, blood glistening against his skin. Ladybug slowly pulled her arms away from him, trying her strength. Chat's hands hovered beside her forearms, ready to catch her incase she fell.

"You okay?" he asked deeply, his eyes seeming to be a darker shade of emerald than they were the last time she saw him.

Ladybug nodded, swallowing hard. She shivered at the electrifying pain in her throat, but she ignored it. Now that her partner was here, she had to be strong enough to help him finish this.

"Whatever you do, his handcuffs are our number one priority," Ladybug croaked, her voice still hoarse and raspy. Chat Noir nodded, his fists clenched tight.

"Trust me, I want that akuma just as much as you do," he muttered.

"Ah, look, it's the three of us all back together again," came the sneering voice of Transporter. Ladybug and Chat Noir turned around to look at him, posing defensive stances. Ladybug suddenly gaped at the villain, who was kneeling on the ground with one knee.

His teeth were clenched angrily, his gray eyes flaming with hate. His left eye was completely black, swelling up with horrid and ugly bruises. His green skin was draped in deep cuts, blood smearing with sweat along his cheeks. Ladybug turned to her partner, gasping at him in surprise; had Chat Noir done that to him?

"Are you two ready to _finish_ this?" Transporter growled, his voice enraged. He grunted in pain as he stood up, using his propped knee for support. Chat Noir snatched his baton from his lower back, and Ladybug noticed streaks of blood along the edges of his weapon.

"We're going to take you down, you bastard," Chat snapped.

Ladybug's eyes widened when Transporter and Chat Noir bolted towards each other, their teeth grit and their brows furrowed. "Chat, wait!" she cried, her hand just barely missing his shoulder. He ignored her, running past and completely intent on fighting the villain. They immediately sprung into a nasty fight, throwing punches and swinging kicks, slashing knives and whacking batons. Ladybug growled at her partner's impatience, watching the pair fight with concern as she grabbed her yoyo.

"Lucky Charm!"

Ladybug was just as content on finishing this battle as Chat Noir was, but if they were going to take Transporter down, they were going to do this right. Her arm was extended high above her head, her face determined as her lucky magic surrounded her spinning yoyo.

Her throat ached from her yell, but her lucky charm was essential for this mission. The red and black disappeared in a sudden whoosh, and Ladybug prepared to catch the object created from her yoyo. It fell into her hands, lightly and with ease. When she saw what the charm was, Ladybug would've screamed if her throat hadn't ached so badly.

A paper clip.

Rolling her eyes, Ladybug clipped the small object to the thin string around her waist.

"You've sure done it for me this time, Tikki," she muttered to herself angrily.

There was no way she was going to waste time finding out how to use a paperclip when she could be fighting. She spun her yoyo in a wide circle, galloping towards the large fight.

Amidst the tussle, Transporter succeeded in knocking Chat Noir away from him, shoving him down with his hands. The superhero quickly scrambled to his feet, clutching his baton close to his chest as his eyes trailed over to Ladybug. She came to a stop beside her partner, spinning her yoyo quickly by her side. The duo turned to look at the Transporter, who grinned as he faced them, licking his lips in anticipation.

"What's our last hope this time, LB? Another nail?" Chat asked, panting. Ladybug scowled and glanced at the charm by her side.

"No, a paperclip. Have any ideas on how _that's_ going to be helpful?" she whispered, keeping her voice low.

The heroes eyed the villain warily, watching him as he began to circle them menacingly. He was in horrible condition and his injuries were almost critical, but he was still intimidating. Besides, Ladybug and Chat Noir were just as beaten up as he was. There was still the possibility that Hawkmoth could win this time.

"I don't know, but you better figure it out soon. All I want is to fight this guy," Chat muttered. They turned with the villain in the whole circle, slouched and slightly grunting with their pain. Chat Noir was holding onto his arm, trying to hide the bloody cut Transporter's knife had slashed into him.

"Be patient," Ladybug mumbled.

"So, about those miraculous…" Transporter began, his smile widening. "That's all I'm really after right now. Sure, it'd be nice to kill you both, considering my intense hatred for you. Geez, Hawkmoth wasn't lying when he said you'd be annoying pests constantly on my tail." Ladybug and Chat Noir frowned, their anger growing uncontrollably by the second.

Maybe once they had thought he was a murderer, but that was before realizing he was an innocent boy wrongly accused. The superheroes almost felt guilty, like it was their fault for him being this way, and it was, really; Marinette and Adrien had screwed up badly. It was their fault for all of this; everything that had happened over the span of the past two days was all caused by them.

"Trust me, I hate this offer and I wish the alternative was to kill you, but perhaps if you just calmly hand me your miraculous, I'll let you both leave alive." The shocked heroes gaped at him in astonishment when they heard his words.

Transporter seemed to be so beaten and worn out, that he probably couldn't take this fight anymore, just like them. If he had to spare their lives in order to maintain his, then he was willing. To them, it was almost more scary that he was being serious rather than lying to them.

"It's not like you two will be able to fight back, anyway. Your civilian forms are pretty much defenseless. I should know," he snickered, eyeing Chat Noir specifically. Chat growled at him, his fists tightening harder at his sides.

Ladybug raised a slightly confused eyebrow, looking from Transporter and back to Chat. She suddenly remembered Adrien with the Transporter when she had first arrived, and when the villain wasn't able to find what he had been looking for on his belt. When Ladybug put the pieces together, she gasped.

"That's not happening, so don't even try to get out of this one," Chat Noir snapped.

Transporter finally stopped circling them, planting his feet firmly in front of them. An evil smirk spread over his lips. Little did he know that he would be compelled to kill them if they gave up their miraculous; if he ever saw that Marinette was the identity of Ladybug, he wouldn't hesitate to kill both her and Adrien. It was lucky for Ladybug that Transporter wasn't aware Marinette had survived the drowning.

"Fine by me. I love all these chances I've been getting to kill you," he grinned. Forgetting about the lucky charm, Ladybug and Chat Noir charged at full speed towards him.

Transporter dodged Ladybugs leg when she jumped in the air and spun it toward him, landing swiftly on her feet when he moved. Chat tried to land a punch to his throat, but the villain quickly craned his neck to the left, pushing his shoulders back.

Chat Noir's fist just barely grazed Transporter's chest, but it managed to swerve and knock into the villain's shoulder. Staggering, Chat growled in irritation as he regained his composure. Ladybug whipped out her yoyo, prancing angrily toward Transporter.

He was fast to pull out his knife, and Ladybug gasped when she saw the blade slicing through the air at her. She leaned back into a backbend, flipping her legs back over in a back walkover. The knife smashed into the kitchen wall meters behind her, bouncing back into the waiting hand of Transporter. He slashed the knife at her when she came back up from her walkover, leaving a deep cut in her forearm. Ladybug shouted out in pain and staggered backwards, collapsing onto her knees.

"Ladybug!" Chat yelled, glancing over at her. Transporter quickly advanced on him, proceeding into another nasty fight with the superhero. Chat Noir remained focused on his battle with Transporter, but his concern grew for his partner. Chat blocked a knife attack with his baton, entering into a sort of sword fight with the villain.

Groaning, Ladybug grasped her arm, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes closed in pain. _Shit,_ she thought angrily. Why did stuff like this keep happening to her today? She realized that no matter how hard they fought him, they couldn't defeat him. They wouldn't be able to. It was her lucky charm that would be their savior.

Looking around, Ladybug quickly determined her surroundings, wondering what use a paperclip would be. She turned to look at the sword fight, spotting the purple handcuffs tight around Transporters wrists. She managed a small smirk when she glanced about the room and noticed the chandelier hanging above the dining table to her right. Finally; Tikki's plan for her was beginning to come into play.

Chat Noir suddenly gasped when the knife went flying from the villain's hands, scraping his thigh and clashing down onto the floor. The blond teen scrambled away from Transporter, groaning and clutching at the bleeding wound on his leg. The villain let out a small victory snicker as he kneeled on the floor, snatching his dagger back up.

Ladybug moaned when she stood up and a shock went through her biceps, but she ignored the pain. Just as the villain stood and turned to face her, Ladybug threw the yoyo around his body, the string squeezing him tight.

The villain squirmed and squealed, his grip on his knife suddenly loosening as the object went clattering to the floor again. Grinning, Ladybug used every last ounce of her energy to swing Transporter's body over her head, flipping him in the air and making him land on the table, lying on his side.

"Get this off me!" he growled, writhing on the surface of the dining table. Ladybug pulled hard on the yoyo in order to not let the rope loosen. She leaned back on her heels against the pressure of the other end of the yoyo, the rope wrapped around the squirming Transporter. She grit her teeth and turned around to look at Chat Noir, her knuckles going white under her suit as she squeezed the string.

"Chat Noir! The chandelier!" Ladybug shouted. She suddenly let out a startled scream as she felt the pressure on the other side of the rope go slack, and she fell down on the floor.

Frowning, she looked up to see Transporter standing on the table, untangling the string from his body. Chat Noir growled as he stood up carefully, replacing the baton on his back and trying his weight on his injured leg.

"Any day now, Chat!" Ladybug shouted angrily, front hand springing up onto the table to face Transporter. He kicked out at her, and she blocked it with her elbow, sending a swift punch to his stomach. He stumbled backwards, the air being knocked from his lungs.

"Cataclysm!"

Chat Noir sprinted towards the dining table, jumping onto the surface ungracefully with his injured thigh. His hand emitting black destruction magic, he avoided the fight between Ladybug and Transporter and pounced high in the air, slashing his activated hand against the wall above the chandelier.

Chat landed on the other side of the table, smiling with pride when the ceiling cracked. Dust and crumbs of cement fell as the piece of wall above the chandelier suddenly gave out, descending down on the table below and taking the entire chandelier with it. Ladybug glanced up amidst her fight and saw the golden lamps of the chandelier begin to fall quickly on her and Transporter's heads.

Her eyes widening, Ladybug gasped and dove to the corner of the dinner table, falling flat on her stomach. Transporter raised his eyebrows in confusion at the superhero before looking up just in time to see the large ceiling fixture crashing down on him. Ladybug and Chat Noir's arms flew over their heads from opposite sides of the table, avoiding the dust and crumbling cement chunks, glad that the loud noise had drowned out Transporters pained screams.

The villain had been knocked onto the surface of the table, his body being painfully pinned down by the large chandelier. The crash was loud as the glass on the lamps scattered everywhere, piercing into Transporter's suit. His body was curled under the chains and large metal, groaning as his legs and arms ached horribly. Pieces of broken ceiling fell on his head from the large hole above, bouncing off the mass of the broken chandelier resting over his body.

When the white ceiling dust had cleared, Ladybug stood up carefully on the table, her bright red suit powdered with cement dust. Transporter's eyes were shut, his teeth bared angrily. The loud and ear-piercing noise of the chandelier hitting the table was replaced with the villain's muffled squealing. The feeling of victory had never felt so good to Ladybug that she nearly forgot the next part of the mission.

Hurriedly, Ladybug kneeled beside the villain, yanking his right wrist from the remains of the golden chandelier chains. She retrieved the paper clip from her side and straightened it out, bending it awkwardly until it suited her needs. She then inserted it inside the keyhole to Transporter's right handcuff, twisting it until the cuff unlocked. Ladybug breathed heavily when she stood, her chest rising and falling rapidly, staring at the devilish object she had been trying for two days now to retrieve.

Without a second thought, Ladybug dropped it on the table. She stomped on the handcuff heavily, snapping the object into two pieces. Chat Noir watched her from the other side of the chandelier, grinning in awe at his partner. The duo reacted as though they'd never seen an akuma before when the horrid creature flew from the confines of the handcuff.

It flapped its wings madly, flying away through the air. Ladybug and Chat hopped down from the table with painful effort, leaving the groaning villain and the broken chandelier.

A smiled flickered on the corners of Ladybug's lips as she took her yoyo and slid the top open with her finger. "No more evil doing for you, little akuma," she whispered.


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm so sorry for the wait! It's been a long two months since I've posted, but I'm here with the last chapter (finally). Thank you so much for all the reviews I've been getting and the feedback! It really means a lot :) If you guys aren't satisfied with this ending, since it was a little choppy, or there's some stuff you'd like to keep going, I'd be willing to keep writing this. Idk what the best way to go with this is, I'd just kinda planned it to end here. Idk. Let me know what you think!**

…

Chapter: 14

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

The paperclip was tossed high in the air, swirling high above their heads. Thousands of tiny ladybugs magically appeared from the small object and swept around the room, twirling in their usual magic line. They twisted around the broken chandelier on the table and replaced it high on the ceiling, the glass sparkling with renewal. Ladybug watched the magic with glee, having never felt relief of this kind before. Her heart was pounding, her head was spinning, her eyes were twinkling with a bright light.

The happiness and sense of revival had never been this great, had never been this high, that the superheroine payed no attention to her other physical needs. Ladybug collapsed to the ground beside Chat Noir as their legs gave way, the air escaping their lungs all in one long rush. By now, the ladybugs had disappeared from repairing Transporter's damage throughout the city from the past two days. Arms shaking as she held herself up on the floor, Ladybug peered over at the kitchen table to watch as a purple substance ran over Transporter's knocked out body. Her stomach felt sick when she saw the liquid clear away and reveal the pale figure of James Cornfield.

With a rasping breath, Ladybug quickly turned her head away. It was over, but she still couldn't bring herself to look at the boy she'd caused so much pain to. A boy who had been inflicted with such great emotions that the most evil threat in Paris had taken control of him. That Ladybug's arch nemesis had forced out the blackest part of his soul.

The superheroes felt the weight of the akuma lift from their shoulders. They sat on the floor, legs sprawled beside them, as they recovered emotionally and physically. Ladybug's head spun now with dizziness as she accepted everything that had happened. She accepted that she had been the one who had brought this akuma on them, but she also accepted that she had _fixed it._ That by worrying, she'd only be causing herself more pain. Besides, there were many things to accept other than the glory and victory of it all; one, for example, being that Adrien was Chat Noir.

Oh, Adrien. Ladybug had been too caught up in the victory, in the fighting and success, that she had let her mind drift from her current situation with her partner.

That she loved and cared about him.

That no matter what she had ever felt in the past, her heart would forever belong to him.

Her blue gaze turned to look at him as they for once acknowledged each other's presence. _That_ was the one thing that had been nagging her and tugging on her heartstrings all afternoon; Adrien.

Ladybug's black hair fell over her hunched shoulders as she lifted her head to look at him. Their gazes were locked, having turned to face each other in unison. His hair was a matted mess like hers, sweaty and stuck together in knots. Chat Noir had a minor cut on his lower lip, and a bloody scratch in his suit near his collarbone. The side of his thigh had a large slash in it, the escaping blood staining his pitch black suit. The white ceiling dust had tinted his suit a light gray as he sat hunched over on the ground.

The only part of him that had been unharmed, that had been untampered with, was his glowing green eyes. They dazzled back at her, staring softly with his calm expression. His breathing was staggered, just like hers, as his shoulders shook with each intake of breath. He was a horrible mess, and any fool could see that for themselves; but Ladybug didn't care. In her eyes, he was like a ray of heaven flashing gracefully before her. He was all she cared for at the moment, all that she desired, all that she wanted to be with.

Ladybug's bangs were matted against her sweaty forehead with dirt, and her ribbons were loose in her pigtails as they draped down her hunched back. Her skin was much paler than usual, stained with blood by a small cut on her cheek. A gash slithered through her bicep, the blood blending in with her red ladybug suit. Her legs were sprawled beside her, her fit and slender body slightly shaking with every breath she took. She was locked onto Chat Noir's gaze, her blue eyes shimmering with an eagerness he felt too.

No matter what she looked like, no matter what situation they were in, nothing could change the fact that Chat loved her with all his heart. In his eyes, she was an angel descended and brought to him by God himself. She was the image of perfection, the flashing light in his life. Never had he met a girl like Marinette, and he never would ever again. She was selfless and kind, thoughtful and caring. And the best part about it was, she did it in her own way. Ladybug helped others and shone a light into their lives in a way that only she could make happen. Chat Noir would never, not in a million years, ever let a girl like her out of his life. He could almost feel the heat radiating from her body, the hot breath that emerged from her parted mouth, that he couldn't take the distance between them anymore.

Slowly, their heads inched closer together, their bodies leaning towards each other. Ladybug's eyes fluttered closed as she felt herself slide closer to him on the ground.

Their lips met, Chat Noir's gloved hand gently caressing her cheek. Ladybug inched her hands forward, her fingertips finding the sleek leather of his suit. Her fingers crawled up his chest, briefly running over the torn spandex by his collarbone. Chat Noir found himself enticed by the taste of her lips, and he never realized exactly how much he'd been longing for this moment again with her.

Chat's hands slid past her arms, wrapping around her waist and eagerly pulling her close. The urge to touch and feel her slender body grew when he felt her arms wrap around his neck, immersing her fingers deep within his blond hair. Chat pressed his hands against her lower back, pulling her closer and closer to his body. He brought her up on his lap, holding her close as he eliminated any space between them.

Ladybug sat in his lap, her legs resting against his waist. A wave of satisfying heat simmered through both of them at the close contact, savoring one another's touch. The heat began to build as their lips moved desperately, craving, asking for more. Chat Noir brought his tongue out over Ladybug's lips, feeling the full, luscious mouth identical to Marinette's. She obliged happily, opening her mouth as his tongue brushed over hers.

Ladybug trailed her hands back down to his shoulders, running over the muscles beneath the suit. Her fingers inched up the collar at his neck, finding the burning hot skin of his jawline. His skin was like fire, penetrating through her suit and making her cheeks flush pink with heat. She grazed his chin and neck with her hands before trailing her fingers down his throat, clasping onto the yellow bell below his collarbone. Slowly, she pulled the zipper down, opening the front of his suit until it reached his stomach. Ladybug remembered touching his skin as Marinette, able to feel him without her spandex suit on, and her body swelled with heat at the memory. She wanted that again. She wanted to relive every moment of that with him, with Adrien, now that they were relieved of the akuma.

Her gloved hand roamed over the surface of his chest, brushing the cut below his neck. His skin heated her hand under her suit, pressing her fingers against his prominent abs. Chat moved his hands along her back, outlining her body. Ladybug hummed lightly into their heated kiss as his lips left hers, touching instead the soft skin of her jawline. Ladybug gasped when his lips finally left hers, out of breath. A smile flickered on the corners of Chat's lips as he kissed down her jawline, feeling the hot breath of Ladybug gasping for air against his cheek. His lips found the skin of Ladybug's neck, and his body rose in temperature.

Chat Noir didn't have far to go before his bottom lip grazed the hem of her spandex suit. He kissed farther down anyways, his lips moving over the sleek suit. Ladybug was compelled to lean her head farther back, her hands gripping his shoulders tightly for support. Her breathing was heavy as she panted, feeling his hot breath emitt against her neck. She gasped when his teeth gently grazed over her collarbone, wrapping her arms back around his neck and pulling them closer. Ladybug's fingers tugged at the ends of his straggly blond hair, brushing over his black cat ears.

"Oh, Chat," Ladybug whispered, his lips moving back up her neck in deep kisses.

Chat Noir felt heat and overwhelming dizziness when he heard his name whispered so close to his ear. Quickly, he kissed up onto the corner of her jawline, her flushed skin burning beneath his lips. They were so close as Ladybug sat facing him in his lap, Chat Noir's hands pressing her against him tightly. He ran his hands down her back, running down her thighs that rested on either side of his waist. He felt his muscles go weak slightly at his touch; no matter what he did, he wouldn't be able to get enough of her.

Chat Noir's lips and tongue inched farther down her jawline until the tip of his nose reached the soft enclosure of her black hair. He shut his eyes, intaking the scent of her sweet strands. She smelled like sugar and freshly baked bread from Marinette's bakery, and quite honestly, she tasted like it too. Oh, God, had he been waiting for this moment again. Every time he had seen Marinette after their first kiss, he had found he wanted more. He wanted more of her warmth, of the comforting feelings she gave him whenever they were close. She was becoming a drug he was addicted to, a drug he couldn't get enough of.

Chat was just about to lean her backwards, to pin her to the ground and lay above her when -

 _Beep._

Ladybug grit her teeth, wishing her earrings hadn't interrupted them. Even if she wasn't willing to admit it, she longed to continue with him. She wanted to keep them close, to feel the heat between them that easily ridded her of her stress. Chat paused his actions when he heard the shrill sound vibrate against Ladybug's earlobes, his lips hovering beside her cheek.

Unwillingly, Ladybug took her hand away from his chest and out of his messy hair, beginning to rise off of his lap. She knew what had to be done, she knew that they needed to keep their identities secret. They both knew; it was important that the secret was maintained. Ladybug's cheeks still flushed red with desire as she levitated away from her partner, knowing that for the best, they had to depart.

"Chat, I -" she began, suddenly wishing that she hadn't let him kiss her like that so easily. Before she could utter out another word, Chat Noir pulled her arms down towards him quickly, tugging her back down onto his lap. Ladybug stared at him, her blue eyes wide with alarm. Her mouth moved, mouthing shocked words that failed to escape her lips. Before she could stop it, Chat's hand slithered behind her neck and rested within her straggly black hair, pulling her head closer. Their lips met again before Ladybug could prevent him from making more contact.

"We don't have to leave each other just yet," Chat Noir whispered, his mouth brushing over her lips as he speaked. Another beep broke the air, but this time it was his ring that lost a green pad. Ladybug pulled her head away, frowning as her cheeks glowed a hot pink.

"Chat," she said sternly, trying to prevent her voice from shaking. "We have to. I don't want to risk our identities."

Chat Noir rolled his eyes, pulling her closer to him and planting his lips back against her neck. Ladybug gasped, surprised and slightly annoyed. He was breaking down her walls again; in a way that she almost couldn't resist, and she didn't like it. She knew that he wanted to let it go, to get the reveal over with and accept the truth. But Ladybug didn't want her heart to be broken so easily. She knew that if Chat Noir detransformed in front of her, her heart wouldn't be able to take it, no matter how much mental preparation she'd done.

"Screw our identities," he muttered, gradually kissing her neck. Ladybug winced when she felt his teeth, her hands against his chest and ready to push him away. "Our identities aren't a secret anymore. Let's just accept the truth."

"Chat!" Ladybug exclaimed, her eyebrows slanted into a mad furrow.

"What? You know it's true. I don't want you to leave yet," Chat mumbled, his breath radiating back on her skin. Ladybug grunted in annoyance when he didn't let her go, another warning ringing in her ears. She pushed her hands against him, trying to release his hold on her, but his hands kept her firmly against him, holding her without a dilemma.

"Chat Noir," Ladybug breathed, finding it hard to resist his embrace. "S-Stop it."

"No," was her partner's simple response. Ladybug let out a breathy sigh, allowing herself to stay a little bit longer. She should never have let him break down her walls like that in the first place, she knew, but he was too irresistible to refuse. She loved him way too much to not want to continue any longer.

"I think Hawkmoth knows who I am," Chat Noir said suddenly, his teeth pausing on her jawline.

Ladybug tensed, knowing exactly what he was talking about. A miserable and sad atmosphere replaced the annoyed tension. Neither of them knew what that meant for him just yet, or what Hawkmoth was capable of with this information, but they could only assume that new problems would arise for them. Ladybug sighed, wishing she had never found out who he was. All it did was bring more anxiety to their relationship, and right now, Chat Noir was too content on making her stay to break that wall she built.

"I know," Ladybug choked, her eyes beginning to water. This was too much for her. They weren't being careful with what they said or did, and Ladybug knew Chat Noir wasn't going to be helpful when it came to hiding their secrets. She wasn't ready to talk about the safety precautions Chat should take if a power hungry monster knew his most prized secret, but she was prepared for when the talk came. It had to happen; she knew, whether they liked it or not. It was something she'd rather discuss than break her heart revealing her identity.

 _Beep._ Two minutes left.

Ladybug didn't care that she had an urge to stay and see him detransform. She didn't care if she already knew what she would see; it was time to stop being Marinette for a moment and step up as Ladybug. There was a time and a place for something like this, and right now she was still transformed.

"Stop," she muttered, taking his hands off her back. "I have to go."

There was no point in arguing. If she was still content on keeping her identity from him, then he had to respect her wishes, no matter how much he thought she was wrong. No matter if someone like Marinette was too much to resist. He bit his lip, furrowing his brow as he hesitantly let Ladybug go. She stood up slowly, and he followed her off the floor.

"Are you sure?" he asked hopefully, zipping up the front of his suit. "Are you sure you don't want to stay and see?"

Ladybug folded her arms across her chest, her eyes darting to the floor. Quite honestly, she wasn't sure of what she was ready for. That dilemma alone was enough to tell her that the secret would have to remain, for now.

"I…" she began, a lengthy breath escaping her lungs. "I - yes, I'm sure."

Chat Noir stared down at his partner, watching her fight back tears that threatened to spill. He sighed, finding it hard to watch the girl he was in love with struggle. Ladybug's stubbornness would subconsciously build up a wall, a wall that intended on shutting him out in order to preserve her misery for herself. That was Chat's problem with her; he wanted to keep their relationship strong, to maintain a trustful bond. But sometimes, Ladybug's efforts to keep him out and protect him only brought out the opposite effects. Chat Noir tried to keep tears back as he looked down at Ladybug, her body tensing and her face scrunching up with hurt.

Knowing it was his job to be there for her, Chat drew her in for a hug, comforting her obvious pain. Ladybug hugged him back, her arms wrapping around his back. She shut her eyes just before a tear was able to roll down her mask, nuzzling her head against his shoulder. Chat leaned his cheek against her soft hair, swaying them slowly. He winced when another beep emerged from his miraculous.

"I promise I'll let you know when I'm ready," Ladybug whispered, sniffing slightly. "But for right now, we have other problems to worry about than our identities."

As much as she hated it, Ladybug pulled away, looking up into her partner's face. She backed away, giving his hand a loving squeeze before turning around to leave.

"Ladybug," Chat said quickly, leaning forward to catch her hand before it fell by her side. Ladybug paused and turned around impatiently, the pain still shining dully in her blue eyes. Chat Noir brought her hand to his lips, kissing it softly.

"I love you," he said quietly, rubbing her spotted hand before letting it drop again.

Ladybug smiled warmly, standing facing him for a few more seconds before heading out the door. Chat Noir sighed as he watched her black hair disappear behind the entrance, wishing he could've done more to comfort her. It was obvious to him that she was in denial, and it hurt to know that he wouldn't be able to help her any more that day. The akuma had been captured, but Ladybug was right; Hawkmoth knew his identity, and that was a problem.

But he didn't want her to have to worry about that; even Ladybug had her limits. It was his problem, he should have to deal with it, but it caused more pain to think that his stubborn partner would demand that she helped him as well, no matter how hurt she got in the process. The last thing Chat needed was the love of his life getting more hurt because of him.

Chat Noir stood there, gazing at the kitchen door. His heart felt empty; he longed for more of Marinette's company. He wanted to truly show her how much he loved her, and he wanted her to know that he would always be there for her. Who knew so much pain and emotional hurt would be involved with revealing identities? He sighed, running a gloved hand shakily through his messy blond hair.

The last thought that ran through his mind before he detransformed was how Marinette would act at school the following Friday.

…

"Marinette!"

Before she could fully turn around, long, tan arms were thrown around her neck, a wave of bushy brown hair being tossed clumsily in her face. Marinette stumbled backwards in surprise, her eyes going wide. Several people in the locker aisle turned their heads to watch the commotion between the two best friends reuniting.

"It's good to see you too, Aly - ah!" Marinette felt a sudden rush of wind leave her lungs again as Alya squeezed her harder, burying her face in her friend's shoulder.

Marinette didn't care that they were causing a scene, or that her breath was being taken away. She shut her eyes and smiled uncontrollably, hugging her friend back happily. Alya pulled away, her green eyes glistening brightly beneath her glasses. Hands resting on Marinette's shoulders, she took in her friend as if she hadn't seen her in years.

"God, I was so worried about you," she whispered, a small laugh escaping her crooked mouth. Marinette grinned broadly, having never felt their friendship this strong before.

"Alya, thanks for everythi -"

"Ah! Nope, I don't want to hear it! You're safe and sound now, back at good old Dupont High School. You are never, I repeat, never, going to accuse anybody of doing anything else from now on, do you hear me?" Alya exclaimed, cutting her off.

Marinette couldn't even bring herself to respond. She was too caught up in her happiness, in her relief, that there was nothing left to complain or be sad about. The only thing left for them to do was celebrate their reunion. Her blue eyes radiating a happiness Alya felt too, the only thing Marinette could think to do was nod her head aggressively, her white teeth flashing in a wide grin.

Marinette felt Alya squeeze her arms around her neck again in an embrace, struggling to hold the both of them in the hug. Laughing in joy, Marinette was forced to lean her shoulder against the metal locker. "Thanks anyways, A-Alya," she blurted, laughing as air rushed from her lungs.

"Geez, Alya, you don't have to strangle the girl to death," came a voice from behind the two girls. Alya released Marinette, spinning around to glare angrily at Nino. He stood beside Marinette's locker, his arms folded casually with a smirk.

"Nino, I will hurt you," Alya hissed, scolding him for ruining her moment with Marinette.

The black-haired girl only giggled, looking in glee at both her friends. She quickly hurried over to Nino, who joyfully lifted her off the ground and spun her around in a large hug. Placing her back on the ground, Nino's face portrayed an emotion Marinette didn't think she'd ever seen in him before.

"You scared me half to death yesterday! Do you realize I had no way of knowing if you were safe or not until the news announced the defeat of that psycho? No one had a clue of what the hell happened to you!" Marinette couldn't stop her childish smile as she watched the overly-concerned Nino, obviously enjoying her time exploring this side of him. He leaned down to give her one last hug, scowling at her fit of giggles.

"You can't just do that to us, Marinette. Even your parents were going ballistic!" Nino shook his head in distress, unsure of how to handle his friend. Alya turned to Marinette, a sudden new interest overtaking her expression.

Flicking Marinette on the forehead with her finger, Alya asked, "Speaking of your parents, what was their reaction to when you got back to the bakery?"

Marinette felt her face turn red in hot embarrassment. When it came to her parents and the subject of worrying, it was best to avoid that particular topic. "Oh, y'know...the usual," she laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "It was even worse than the past two nights that they've been worried about me. My mom even made me walk to school today with her for safety…"

Nino snorted, leaning a casual elbow on the locker wall. "She's _still_ making you take the safety precautions? That villain literally _just_ got his ass kicked by Ladybug and Chat Noir yesterday. Even if you had been captured by that deranged maniac, there's no way he can possibly harm you now. Besides, everyone knows what happened to that dude after the police arrived. They'll be checking on him to make sure -"

Alya's elbow shot into Nino's side, staring him down with an angry glare. "Seriously? Did you _have_ to bring that up?"

Marinette's face suddenly grew with concern at the realization that she, indeed, had no idea what had happened to James Cornfield. The last thing she needed on her mind was the feeling of more guilt, but if he had been taken to court and arrested a second time, she didn't think she'd be able to handle herself.

"W-Wait…" Marinette began, her eyes growing wider with worry. "What _did_ happen to him after the police got there?"

Alya shook her head, an annoyed scowl resting in the palm of her hand. She shot Nino another dirty look, who only scrunched his face at her and grasped his hurt side. "Look, Marinette...you don't have to worry about it, really, it's not a big -"

"No, I need to know," Marinette said unsteadily, straightening her posture with shaky confidence. Nino rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, his cheeks glowing red.

"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you," Alya said. Sighing, she pushed her glasses up her nose and declared, "James Cornfield was brought back home to his family and avoided arrest by the police."

Nino and Alya grit their teeth, preparing for the worst. They were completely unsure of how their friend would take the information, and thought it safe to assume that news of the boy who'd hunted her down to murder her had been freed of charges would upset the traumatized Marinette.

Instead of rage and confusion, Marinette's face took a moment to process the information. James Cornfield had been...freed? The police thought it was okay to let someone who had tried to kill two people go? She had been preparing for the worst news, but apparently she didn't have to. Marinette's face lighted with joy, failing at her attempts to be discreet about it. This piece of news really did end the Transporter case; everything had gone back to normal, and there was no guilt or shame to be felt anymore.

Alya raised a confused eyebrow at her friend, watching her lips twitch into a gleeful smile. She exchanged slightly disturbed glances with Nino, unsure of why Marinette was in any way happy. "Girl, are you….okay?" she asked nervously, eyeing Marinette suspiciously.

Marinette tightened her grip on her backpack strap over her shoulder, her blue eyes shining with delight and relief. "Of course, Alya," she laughed, shaking her head in disbelief at the shocked pair. "Did you guys really think I'd be upset that he hadn't been arrested?" Of course, Marinette didn't expect her friends to understand. They weren't the ones who'd gone through the emotional guilt and sadness of the situation.

Nino and Alya nodded, shrugging awkwardly. "Well, yeah, I mean, he did almost kill you," Nino said, leaning his back fully against the locker. "What makes you so happy about that fact that this psycho is free?"

"A certain _side_ of him tried to kill me, a side that only a certain power-hungry monster could pull out of him. That part of him is never coming back," Marinette reassured confidently, flashing white teeth. Alya and Nino only stood in front of her, gazing as if they'd just encountered a real-life ghost. Sometimes, their super heroine friend made close to no sense.

By now, the locker aisle had cleared as everyone made their way to class, chatting heartily. Marinette noticed a difference in the stress level that floated through the air; more than she knew, Transporter had impacted all of Paris. Now that he was defeated, even the citizens seemed to be back to their care-free selves.

"Holy shit…" Nino suddenly whispered, his head whipping around as his gaze locked onto something farther down the hallway. Alya craned her neck past Nino, trying to see behind his tall frame. When she saw the designated target, she gasped loudly. Confused, Marinette slanted her eyebrows and tried to gaze past Nino, but her two friends had already began their descent down the hallway.

"OH MY GOD!" Alya screamed, picking up her pace. Marinette followed them awkwardly, but it didn't take long to find out what it was they were so excited to see.

Adrien, his blond hair combed perfectly, his outfit neat and kept clean as usual, stood holding his gray bag around his shoulder, pausing in the middle of the locker aisle. Marinette went red as she slowed her walking, her gaze faltering slightly. Adrien grinned meekly at the two ecstatic friends, unaware of Marinette's presence as she stopped dead in her tracks.

Adrien was forced to drop his bag as Alya threw herself on him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Stumbling back slightly, Adrien hugged her back, smiling broadly in delight.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU? WE WERE ALL SCARED TO DEATH WHEN WE HEARD YOU'D DISAPPEARED! OH MY GOD, AGRESTE!" Alya couldn't contain her wrath and sadness anymore. She hugged Adrien tighter, who was stunned by her outburst. "T-Thanks, Alya," he breathed hotly, unable to say much else. He had never witnessed such an upset, angry Alya like this before, and in moments like these he was overjoyed that he had someone like her for a friend.

Alya pulled away to wipe her spilling tears, allowing Nino to have his share of the blond model. The two best friends were ecstatic to see one another as they hugged tightly, clapping one another on the back. "Dammit, Adrien," Nino hissed, pulling away to grin toothily at his best friend. "Don't ever put yourself in that situation again. You'll regret it if you do."

Adrien could only laugh, caught up in the moment of having two people who deeply cared for him as friends. "You're not going to cry, are you, Nino?" he teased, smirking widely. Nino rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses farther up his nose, a slight sniff escaping him.

"Um, n-no…"

Alya and Nino stared confusedly at the blond when he suddenly froze, staring past them into the hallway. They followed his gaze to Marinette, who still stood frozen in her place. Realizing they hadn't greeted each other yet, Alya quickly shoved her glasses back on her face and pulled Nino by his arm over to the wall, out of the way of the former victims.

Marinette didn't notice anything around her as she stared wide-eyed at Adrien, barely noticing when her pink schoolbag dropped absentmindedly to the floor. Time slowed, trapping her with Adrien. Nothing surrounded them, nothing was between them within the moment. It was just Adrien, Marinette, and the confusing tension that built between their space.

Adrien felt himself walk forward slowly, towards the girl who was locked with his gaze. His instincts pulled him closer, his green gaze gaping at the the girl before him. She was more fragile looking than the last time he saw her; her cheeks were pale, her blue eyes were wide with anticipation, and her black hair fell stationary around her shoulders.

She wasn't hiding behind a spotted mask this time. Instead, she was a student attending the same high school as him. There was so much that felt empty between them, that felt as if their relationship was still unresolved. Which didn't quite make sense; the akuma had been captured, they were no longer being hunted, and their identities had been "revealed."

Marinette's parted mouth didn't intake or exhale breath as Adrien Agreste stood before her, seeming so close, yet so far. Here was a boy who had been clad in tight black spandex the last time she'd seen him, who'd been begging her to stay with him to reveal this boy right in front of her. She had refused, claiming to have been too scared, too unready, to face the truth.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized how unlike Ladybug that really was. Ladybug was supposed to be stronger than that; she was supposed to have been ready. Yet here she stood as Marinette, fully prepared to take on the truth. Marinette, the shy, clumsy, forgetful girl who was supposedly nothing compared to Ladybug. And still, even she was more ready than Ladybug had been. If Adrien told her at this very moment that he was her crime-fighting partner, her teammate and most trusted friend, she'd be fully fledged to carry out the next part of the agreement.

Keeping his gaze locked on her bluebell eyes, Adrien slowly extended his arms out, wrapping them gradually around her back. Both acting on instinct and subconscious feelings, Marinette brought her arms up to his neck and they pulled each other together, hugging tightly. Adrien sighed as he leaned his cheek against the top of her head, intaking the usual bakery scent. Marinette nuzzled her face against his shoulder, enjoying the warmth of his body and the feeling of his arms around her. Somehow, this moment switched the feelings of doubt, the tension, the uncertainty.

Both knew it was time to accept the truth and come face to face about it. But as they stood there swaying lightly, holding each other without realizing their true intentions, they knew that every pain they'd endured for the past two days was released. They were comfortable with their relationship, and there was nothing to worry about anymore. When it came down to it, discussing identities with each other would feel natural and right.

Realizing there was still conversations unsaid and necessary interactions to be made in order to avoid suspicion, Adrien let his surroundings come back into his reality and slightly pulled away from Marinette.

"You, uh, you feeling okay?" he said, his voice croaking unintentionally. He felt immediate heat rush to his cheeks as he gazed down at the beautiful smile of his classmate, her lips pink and glossed over with lipstick.

"You know, with all that's just happened? It was...sorta traumatizing," Adrien said unsteadily. Feeling stupid at his lame comments, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to pull of the proper act in front of Nino and Alya. If it was just him and Marinette, the way he wanted it to be, then they'd confess their identities, discussing their feelings of love for each other. That talk was impossible to pull off without their best friends finding out they were Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Marinette grinned, her heart beat thumping happily as she watched Adrien go red and slightly embarrassed. "I've never been better," she replied smoothly, absorbing the remaining soul from his green eyes.

Adrien released her arms, realizing he'd still been holding onto her. His gaze never left her face as he smiled warmly, rubbing the back of his neck. _Damn, now Marinette's having this effect on me. Just great. Can't wait for a day's teasing from Nino,_ he thought gloomily. No matter how much he wanted to feel upset in the slightest, he couldn't.

Not with Marinette near him.

Not when he knew that she, Ladybug, all of her, was completely, desperately in love with him.

And the most conflicting part about it was, he loved her back.

Entirely, painstakingly, desperately in love with her.

The moment was forced to come to an end when the shrill sound of the school bell went off, indicating the message that all students should be in homeroom. Nino and Alya smirked at each other, slowly walking away from the two superheroes and down the next hallway. "We'll let you two stumble in late for class together," Alya teased, her teeth flashing back at Marinette's red face. Nino put his arm around Alya's shoulders as they turned the corner and out of their sight.

When they were completely out of earshot, Adrien turned to Marinette with a face full of confidence, his green eyes gazing mischievously at her. With a slight smirk, Adrien took Marinette's soft hand in his own, lifting it gracefully to his lips and planting a small kiss. "Shall we get to class, m'lady?" he asked, intertwining their fingers.

Marinette rolled her eyes, slanting her eyebrows in a devilish grin. "That depends," she cooed, walking with him as he snatched his gray bag from off the floor.

"Depends on what?" Adrien wasn't able to hide his wide smile as they gazed at each other with eager energy. This new relationship between them was so right, natural, and….well, fun. He supposed that was the normal feeling you got around the one amazing person you're willing to spend the rest of your life with. And Marinette - well, she was a blessing not even the world could repay.

"Depends on how large you're willing to let your ego be in class," Marinette said, letting their hands clasp together with intertwined fingers as they walked. Who knew that one day she'd be holding hands in the hallways at school with _Adrien Agreste._

"What if it's a large one?" Adrien questioned, his voice hinting teasing. Marinette ignored it, like she usually did, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying it.

"Then someone's going to have to put you in your place. No one's going to be too fond of the jerk side in you, Agreste, trust me. Especially Kim," Marinette said, giggling.

"Ouch. I mean, I knew I could sometimes leak a large ego, but never one that would cause you to think I was a jerk," Adrien inquired with a smirk. His expression was replaced by one that was only on the lookout for trouble; one that truly only Marinette had seen in him.

"Besides, who could possibly put me in my place? And succeed, that is," he snickered. Marinette felt her cheeks turn pink, but she didn't plan on letting her guard down.

"Ladybug could," Marinette said quickly, her gaze glued to the floor in front of her. Her hand subconsciously squeezed his, and Adrien ran his thumb over the smooth surface of hers.

Adrien snorted, the realization of how true that was hitting him hard. Little did Marinette know that she was perfectly capable of doing that to him as well, but Adrien definitely wasn't going to let that on to her if she didn't already know. "What gives you that idea?" Adrien said. "I mean, why choose the famous superhero, of all random people in Paris?"

Marinette scowled, a light laugh escaping her lips. "You're _being_ a jerk today, Adrien, and I thought that part of you was way less discreet than this. Ladybug happens to be very bold and strong, much more so than mostly everyone I've met. She's very serious and endearing, sometimes too much for my taste. But, y'know, she is ranked better than all girls in Paris."

Adrien watched the excited grin fade slightly from Marinette's face, and he frowned. "She's not any better than you are," Adrien said quietly. It was his turn for his hand to squeeze hers unintentionally. "As a matter of fact, I'd say you're much more than what Ladybug is."

The couple stayed silent as they continued to walk, Marinette biting her lip in nervousness. "I also chose Ladybug because Nino might've told me about your crush on her," Marinette said, giggling softly as she waited for Adrien's reaction. His face contorted into puzzlement, shock glowing through his eyes.

"What? _Nino_ told you that?" Adrien exclaimed, laughing. "That guy can be a real snitch sometimes."

"He's going to be calling _me_ a snitch when he realizes I told you," Marinette grinned, looking up brightly at Adrien. He laughed, bringing her hand up to his lips to kiss it again.

"Don't worry, m'lady, I won't say a word to him."

When his lips left her hand, they quickly pulled them apart as they came into view of their classroom. They ignored the impudent stares of their classmates as they entered the silent room, Nino and Alya sitting readily at their desks. Locking eyes, Marinette smiled warmly at Adrien as she sat behind him, unable to hide her happiness. Despite all that she'd thought at the beginning of the akuma, the pain and hardship was starting to pay off. Without the latest akuma attack, she wouldn't have this special new relationship with the love of her life.

"Bellwork is on the board, Mr. Agreste and Ms. Cheng," said Ms. Bustier from the front of the room, her eyebrows raised crossly as she exhaled in annoyance. "And that's a detention for both of you. Next time, try to make it on time to class."

Adrien jerked slightly in his seat to look back at Marinette and smirk before turning around again to complete his assigned classwork. Nothing was capable of ruining his day now, not when all he had to do was glance at Marinette to see the most beautiful smile in the world. Not when, after all this time, he finally knew that Ladybug was the girl who sat behind him in class, a girl with so much more to her than what meets the eye.

Nino nudged his shoulder, trying to be discreet as he leaned over to his friend's ear. "I don't think I've seen you this happy since the day your dad let you over to my house," Nino whispered, watching his blond friend turn with a wide grin to look at him.

"I don't think I _have_ been that happy until today," Adrien replied, his eyes misting with a dream-like longing.

"What, did you become Marinette's boyfriend just now or something? What about Ladybug, dude? Did you finally realize she's way out of your league?" Nino questioned quietly, unable to contain his own smile.

"Not exactly," Adrien said, his thoughts roaming through his brain like a bullet. "But something like that." This was the moment that Adrien realized how grateful he was for the latest villain. He realized that fate had caused both Marinette _and_ Adrien to become sucked into the akuma attack without being their alter-egos for once. The happiness remained bright on his face for the rest of the day knowing that Marinette loved him and would forever remain his.

Ms. Bustier glared over at Nino when she noticed his whispering in Adrien's ear. Smiling sheepishly, Nino nudged Adrien's elbow one last time before scooting completely over to his side of the bench.

Marinette felt the brush of Alya's bushy hair against the side of her head as she began to interrogate her with questions. Jumping slightly, Marinette paused her writing and grinned slyly as her friend whispered. "Girl, you are _so_ going to have some explaining to do," Alya hissed, her eyebrows slanted in a mischievous manner.

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked, confused. She was fully aware that the topic was focusing around her and Adrien, but she didn't think Alya or Nino had seen anything too suspicious from the both of them.

"Something's going on between you two after that supervillain, Mari, and I'm pretty intent on finding out what happened." Alya scooted away, her smug expression complementing every word from her mouth. Marinette laughed softly.

"Trust me, Alya, you wouldn't understand. But I'm always looking forward to your investigations," Marinette said smartly, unable to hide her wide smile. Alya rolled her eyes, scribbling down in her notebook with a grin. Marinette turned to look down at the blond boy in front of her, and felt herself being filled with a now familiar happiness.

"Besides, it's not completely over. We still have a few things to figure out - I mean, we've gotten somewhere, that's for sure, but we're almost there."

...

 **Thanks for reading! Just leave a review if you think there should be more, bc honestly idk if I was completely satisfied with this ending. Also, I was thinking of writing another mlb story, but I'm not sure what I should write about, or if it should be an AU...idk, tell me if you have any suggestions. Thanks!**


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